The Curse of Jusenkyo
by TheonLee
Summary: There's a much darker truth to the curse of Jusenkyo. A history that was lost in time. Slowly its chilling story is revealed as an unforeseen tragedy rattles our heroes. Complete. Sequel pending.
1. Prologue

So here's a new story I've been thinking of and just really felt that it needed to be told. I was planning to wait until I finish Fusoku no Kizuna but I just couldn't really wait. I'm thinking of alternating my updates for both stories. So it'd be like one chapter for each story every two weeks or so. Hope you guys can bear with me as I'm doing a pre-u program right now.

**The Curse of Jusenkyo**

Prologue

Rain poured down heavily on the streets of Nerima. Lightning flashed from time to time, accompanied seconds later by thunder. Only a few people were on the sidewalk and they were running to get shelter. Despite the storm, one person, clad in a dark raincoat that assured protection, just walked calmly passing the citizens towards a well known restaurant in the area. His large backpack indicated that he'd been traveling for quite some time before arriving here.

The famous restaurant, Ucchan's then came to view. He just stared up at it for a while before continuing towards the door. A man came out of the café, ready with an umbrella to shield himself from the heavy shower. He walked away quickly after noticing the intimidating approaching figure. Though, of course the traveler did not mean any harm. He just wanted to get out of this bloody weather.

He pushed the door open, triggering the small bell and entered the drier café. He felt relieved to be out of the rain and looked around for a place to sit. It was rather packed and alive with mild conversations despite the gloomy weather outside. He then looked at the person running the place who was busy working at her grill. Not much had changed about her. Her long hair was still tied in its usual style, though it had lengthened over the year. She was wearing a white version of her chef's uniform. And she seemed mechanical, which was rather saddening to see on a pretty girl.

"Welcome sir," a young girl came up to him. He recognized the clothes she wore to be Ukyo's normal uniform. She must have outgrown it. "Come with me. I'll show you your seat," she continued. The man nodded and placed down his bag near the door. He removed his raincoat and left in on the bag and followed the waitress to a booth at the far edge of the building. It was then that he noticed the café looked rather different. Despite the large crowd, he saw the floor tiles had changed to more vibrant patterns and the walls were repainted with a new color. The booths at the side were new too. Not that he actually remembered how it really looked like back then but he knew the place had evolved. And his spirits seemed to lift, almost forgetting the bad weather outside.

Soon he reached his seat. He thanked the young waitress and she smiled back. She placed the menu on his table before tending to the other customers. He leaned into his cushioned chair and relaxed as he pulled off his leather gloves. He glanced out the window, watching water droplets rapidly covering the glass. He had found it rather soothing to just stare at the rain. Whether it was a light shower or a furious downpour, he's at peace. Everything else was forgotten. The world blocked out. It was just the rain, washing away his worries, his sorrow, his past. But, it would not remain that way. They would all just come back later, haunting him relentlessly.

"Have you decided on what to order?" the girl asked, startling the young man. He glanced at her for a second and then scanned through the menu. He decided and told the waitress. She jotted it down, took back the menu and then left the man alone. The man then ran his fingers through his thick hair while he inhaled deeply and then slowly exhaled. He let his bangs fall back over his eyes and rested his arms on the table.

Being back in Nerima brought back a flood of memories. All the battles. All the mischief and chaos they would all cause. All the crazy adventures they had. There were some he had forgotten and some he wished he could. He realized that it was to remain there, no matter how much he tried to throw it away.

Somehow, the rain did not work this time. It was just too strong now. Maybe it was the place. But he could not leave Nerima forever. It had become dear to him. It was the only place that he felt he belonged to; where he felt a reason existed for him in the world.

"Here you go sir," the waitress came back and placed his meal on his table. He thanked the girl and proceeded to eat his okonomiyaki. He hardly remembered the last time he had one of Ukyo's famous okonomiyaki. He could not resist a smile as he began comparing with the ones he had while on the road. Nothing came close to Ukyo's. She must be proud of that. He ate it slowly, savoring the delightful taste. He relaxed himself, trying not to think about the past. He let his thoughts flash through his mind, not focusing on any of them.

As he ate, other customers began to walk out of the restaurant once they finished their meals. Some customers remained to wait out the weather long after their tables had been cleared. Only cups of hot tea accompanied them. They continued their conversations to pass the time. As more customers left, the restaurant started growing quieter. The atmosphere now seemed to fit with the heavy rain outside.

The lonely young man was now done with his meal and left his table. He approached the grill where Ukyo was. She had her back turned as she sorted out whatever there was behind the grill. After placing the amount he needed to pay on the counter, he just stood there, hesitating whether he should really let her see him. Before he could say anything, she whirled around, immediately noticing him.

"Okay, thank you and come again," Ukyo said and took the money. Again it came out mechanically, though she tried to hide it with a smile. The man however just stood there instead of walking away.

"Uh, can I help you?" she asked, perplexed by the young man. He chuckled slightly and then met her eyes.

"Recognize me?" he asked. Ukyo was more puzzled now, cocking her head a bit. She then went around the grill but never left the man's eyes. She got closer to him and peered at him, feeling a sense of familiarity. Then it hit her. Her eyes widened in surprise and her mouth hung open which quickly changed into a wide smile.

"Oh my God! Ryoga, you're back!" Ukyo said and hugged the stunned young man tightly. Ryoga felt his face heat up. He could only place his hands awkwardly on her hips. After what seemed a long time, she broke the hug. She backed up a bit and wiped her small tears, examining the lost boy. He had grown a little taller. His clothes had changed. His trousers made of tough material and a brown long-sleeved t-shirt that suited most types of weather. His washed-out bandana was nearly unnoticeable as it was covered by his bangs.

"You look…well…y-you've grown," Ukyo said, not able to say something appropriate. She chuckled nervously at that, breaking eye contact with him.

"You look great too," Ryoga replied lightly, understanding the awkwardness of the situation.

"Heh, really? I feel like a mess," Ukyo shrugged.

"So, what have you been doing the past few months?" Ukyo asked as she pulled up a stool at the counter. Ryoga mimicked her movements and they sat facing each other.

"The usual," Ryoga replied. "Walking aimlessly, not really knowing where I was." Ukyo tried to make out what he really meant by that when she remembered something about him.

"Oh, so you still have that problem of yours?" Ukyo asked.

"Yeah, unfortunately," Ryoga said embarrassingly. "But, I managed to stay away from Nerima, until now."

"Why'd you come back then?" Ukyo asked. Ryoga altered his gaze slightly and stared at the floor.

"Well, I didn't know where else to go," he replied solemnly despite the small smile on his lips. Ukyo looked at him apologetically. Ryoga then shook his head and looked back at Ukyo.

"Hey, what about you? How've you been doing?" he asked, trying to lighten up the mood. Ukyo leaned back a little and looked away as she thought of a reply.

"Well, business has been good so far," Ukyo replied. "I managed to re-design the place."

"Yeah I can see that," Ryoga remarked as he looked around. "You did a good job," he praised.

"Thanks," Ukyo smiled and then gave out a soft, long sigh. The two then found themselves in an awkward silence. Ryoga diverted his attention to the few customers in the restaurant while Ukyo just played with her fingers. Just then, the front door slowly swung open and a man who looked slightly older than Ryoga walked in.

"Oh, excuse me for a sec," Ukyo said, noticing the new customer. Ryoga glanced behind him at the approaching man while Ukyo left her seat and went back behind the grill. He watched the man order for a while before averting his gaze to the near-empty restaurant. He looked around, trying to find something interesting. Then, he noticed the young waitress clearing up a table. He watched as she did her work, moving from table to table.

"Ooh, interested are you?" came Ukyo's teasing question. Ryoga jumped a little and glared back at the chef who was busy whipping up her recent customer's order. Though, there were no real feelings of anger towards the girl. Ukyo just giggled. Ryoga then returned his gaze to the young waitress.

"Is she in high school?" Ryoga asked.

"Yeah," Ukyo replied. "She's been working with me since last autumn. I was glad that she wanted the job. Handling the place alone was tiring."

Ryoga nodded in acknowledgement.

"She's as hard working as Konatsu," Ukyo added softly. Ryoga looked back at her with a puzzled expression.

"Konatsu?" he repeated.

"Oh, he's someone I previously hired to work with me before her," Ukyo replied.

"Oh, so what happened to him?" Ryoga asked. He noticed that Ukyo's expression changed a little and she just remained silent. She set the finished okonomiyaki on a plate and placed it on the counter. The high school girl then came to pick it up and walked over to the respective customer.

"I…don't really wanna talk about that," Ukyo finally said. Ryoga noticed the strain in her voice and decided not to question any further. He returned to observing the customers eating their meals. He then found himself focusing on the high school waitress picking up empty plates and glasses.

"Her name's Kiyuri by the way," Ukyo said suddenly. "You know…just in case you're tired of staying single," she said, earning another glare from Ryoga.

"You can sign up for that part yourself," Ryoga remarked, grinning a little.

"Ooh, sorry," Ukyo said. "Not quite my type."

"Ouch," Ryoga said dryly.

She laughed at his reaction, causing him to smile. It was really great to see a familiar face again. Everyone else had left since last summer. Well, not exactly. She still sometimes saw Nabiki and Kasumi as well as their father. Though, she felt a huge part of her was incomplete and now that Ryoga was back, a small piece of that void had been filled.

"Hmm, I guess I should close up," Ukyo suggested to herself. Ryoga then turned on his seat to face Ukyo.

"Why?" he asked.

"Well, I don't feel anyone else is gonna come in this weather," she said. Ryoga followed her eyes looking out at the unyielding storm. Ukyo then walked over to the door to change the sign to "CLOSED" and then came back to the grill. The heat coming from the grill slowly dissipated as Ukyo turned it off.

"Say, why don't you stay here for a night or two," Ukyo suggested.

"Umm…are you sure?" Ryoga said awkwardly.

"Yeah! No problem. I have a spare room you could use," Ukyo insisted. "And you wouldn't wanna be out there would you?" she said. Ryoga looked back outside and shivered at the thought of risking himself to turn into a helpless little piglet. When he arrived, he had to be extremely alert to the behavior of the rain and that was rather tiring.

"Well, alright I guess," he nodded a little. Ukyo then grinned at his response.

* * *

The night was quiet but the rain had not stopped. Though, it was gentler now. It was quite a calm night as opposed to the two friends who were currently awake. Ryoga kept staring out the window at the light rain. In another room, Ukyo was sitting on the floor with her back rested against the wall.

'It's so hard to sleep,' Ryoga thought as he leaned his head against the window.

'The memory…just won't go away,' Ukyo thought as she pressed her forehead on her raised knees.

'It was…a night like this…wasn't it?' Ryoga asked himself.

'A year ago,' Ukyo reminisced.

Ryoga sighed sadly and walked back to his futon in the middle of the room. He stared at it for a while before slowly lowering himself and sat cross-legged on the futon. He rested his head on his raised left hand while the other hand played with the blanket. He gazed blankly at the creases formed from his fingers rubbing the fabric.

'Has it really been that long?' he thought to himself.

Ukyo's cheeks still had streaks of tears which were slowly drying. Her red eyes stared out the window, not that she could see much. She was tired but her thoughts and dreams wouldn't let her sleep. She didn't even remember the feeling of having slept well anymore.

'It feels like it's only been a few days,' she thought. She then averted her gaze to her empty futon wondering if it would ever provide her with the comfort she needed. It had failed countless times before and she didn't believe it would soothe her tonight too. Her eyes then started feeling heavy and her breathing slowed. Her body then became limp but she still sat upright with her arms crossed over her raised knees. She slept soundly that night but there would be no actual peace coming from it.

* * *

The restaurant was now ready to receive customers for the day. It was a weekend and in contrast to yesterday, the sky was clear of rain clouds. Ukyo expected a lot of customers coming in today and she hoped it would remain that way until she closed up. As she arranged the tables and chairs, Kiyuri walked in through the front door carrying bags of ingredients.

"Ah, thanks Kiyuri," Ukyo smiled as she was handed the plastic bags.

"Sorry for being a little late," the young girl said awkwardly.

"Oh, don't worry. There's still about 20 minutes before opening time," Ukyo assured. Kiyuri then smiled and nodded. The two girls then turned their heads to Ryoga who had just came down.

"Oh, morning," he greeted simply, raising his hand briefly. Kiyuri nodded while Ukyo replied his greeting. They watched as Ryoga went behind the curtains to where the dishes would usually be cleaned.

"Careful Kiyuri," Ukyo said, surprising the other girl. "You might have caught his eye," she continued with a cheeky grin.

"Huh? W-What?" Kiyuri stammered. "Don't tease me like that Ukyo," she pouted a little, her cheeks slightly red. Ukyo laughed a little.

"Okay, okay," Ukyo said. "Though, there's a possibility."

"Oh stop it," Kiyuri warned, though her small smile ruined that effect she wanted. Ukyo laughed again.

"Alright, go change now," Ukyo ordered lightly which Kiyuri responded with a quick nod. She just watched as the girl disappeared behind the curtains. She remembered when Kiyuri first took the job. She was quiet, shy and really just followed what Ukyo said. She didn't mind that but it was pretty awkward to have a staff who felt like she was out of place. It was only a few weeks into the job that she started to open up a little and became more at ease around Ukyo. She didn't even refer to her boss with an honorific, though that had required Ukyo insisting that she called her just by name. Just then, Ryoga came out and walked towards Ukyo who was standing against the counter.

"She's pretty shy huh," Ryoga suddenly said, obviously referring to Kiyuri.

"Hmm, I think you may have something to do with it," Ukyo said with a knowing grin.

"Uh, what's that supposed to mean?" Ryoga asked suspiciously. Ukyo laughed and shook her head.

"Never mind," she said. Ryoga raised an eyebrow but then dismissed it. He crossed his arms and then sat on the edge of a table. He was careful to not put his whole weight on it.

"So, what should I do boss?" he asked suddenly.

"Huh?" Ukyo said, surprised by Ryoga's question.

"Well, there's gotta be something I can help to do here," Ryoga shrugged and looked around.

"Oh, it's ok. You don't need to," Ukyo replied.

"Hey, seriously. I'm fine with it," Ryoga gave a smile. "It's my thanks for giving me a place to stay for a while." Ukyo didn't have a response to that but then just nodded after considering for a while.

"I'll tell you what to do later," she said and then pushed herself away from the counter. She brought the bags of materials with her and walked over to her workplace. She started to sort out the things needed.

"Say," Ryoga started while watching Ukyo getting ready. "Tomorrow is…" Ukyo paused when Ryoga didn't continue, understanding well enough what he wanted to say.

"Yeah," she said emptily, nodding slightly. She remained frozen for a while before she continued sorting out the ingredients. When she finished she slowly turned to face Ryoga. She saw Ryoga's sorrowful expression and felt it reflecting on her.

"The place would be closed tomorrow," Ukyo said. Ryoga looked up at Ukyo and only replied with a small nod.

* * *

Hmm, I think that's a pretty good start. I kinda get the feeling that there'll be questions coming from you guys. But let's just see what happens.


	2. P1: The Water

Alright here it is. First I'd like to say thanks to those who read and reviewed to the prologue. Secondly, this story would be in two parts with each part having different main characters. To not complicate things, I chose to put "Ranma" as the main character of the whole story. So, part 1 is in the past and part 2 is in the present which would come later on. Another thing is that my chapter updates are going to be irregular for this story and Fusoku no Kizuna. It's just that I need to give higher priority to college. I trust that you guys would understand. So, here we go.

* * *

**The Curse of Jusenkyo**

Part 1

The Water

Over a year ago…

It was a fine summer day in Nerima. The clouds looming over and the winds blowing made the day cooler. Despite the risk, Ranma walked with perfect balance atop the chained fence alongside the canal he had fallen into countless times. Most of them were caused by Akane with her various methods of punishing him. He glanced warily at his fiancée walking on the street below. Thankfully their squabbles had relatively lessened and they were able to have decent conversations from time to time.

Maybe it had to do with what they had experienced in China about a month ago. Ranma still had clear visions of what happened and he always feared something as that would repeat itself. That was why he swore to himself that he would not let Akane ever go through those things again. He still feared though that situations would spiral out of his control and that he'd fail to protect those he cared about. Especially the girl walking on the street below.

He remembered how shocked he was when Akane said she heard his personal confession. He was sure that he hadn't said it out loud. He remembered feeling that it had been too late and screaming out to her was of no use. Of course, he was delighted when she woke up. Now that she was back with him, he wanted to tell her while she could clearly hear it. It was exceptionally difficult though. Admitting to himself was one thing but telling her was a whole other matter. Ranma paused in his steps as a strong wind suddenly blew. He sighed in relief when he didn't find himself in the water below. He was glad that he was more in control and that his encounters with cold waters were lessening.

"Hey, it looks like it's going to rain," Akane said, causing Ranma to look up at the dark clouds.

Though that didn't mean he had been able to completely avoid it. And this may be one of those times.

"Yeah, we'd better reach home fast," Ranma agreed. He jumped down and landed beside Akane. He looked quizzically at her when she didn't move.

"You've been awfully quiet," she said. "What are you thinking about?" Her face wore a curious expression. Her tilted head emphasized that but it presented as something else to Ranma.

"It's nothing really," Ranma answered, looking away. While Ranma felt slightly uncomfortable with the situation Akane was feeling avoided.

"I don't believe you," Akane frowned a little.

"Ah, why do you wanna know anyway?" Ranma refused to answer her. Akane groaned and then turned around.

"Fine, be that way," she said as she started walking off. Ranma quickly realized his mistake and followed her. He had his mouth open to speak when the sound of a ringing bell approaching stopped them in their tracks. Before he could turn around, Ranma found himself flat on the asphalt with a heavy weight pinning him down.

"Hello Ranma," Shampoo greeted cheerily.

'Great!' Ranma thought sourly. 'What is it this time?'

"Don't you have better ways to say hello?" Akane glared at Shampoo. The Chinese girl just looked confusedly at her which made Akane boil even more.

"What you mean, Violent Girl?" she said innocently. While the girls had their glaring contest – it was rather one sided though, Ranma picked himself off the road.

"What is it Shampoo?" he asked, hinting a little frustration in his voice as he dusted himself. Instantly, Shampoo's attention was redirected towards Ranma.

"Shampoo found way to cure curse," she blurted happily.

"R-Really?" Ranma brightened up. Shampoo nodded gleefully, but Ranma pulled back and looked suspiciously at her.

"How can I be sure?" Ranma frowned a little. Shampoo looked surprised at his question. She hadn't expected that. Usually Ranma would take the bait right away.

"Yes Shampoo sure!" she said, a little hurriedly. "There this man who know something about Jusenkyo."

"The Guide?" Akane bluntly piped in. Being ignored was quickly thinning out her patience so she needed to make herself known.

"No, dumb Akane," Shampoo said flatly which managed to tip Akane off even further. "There this young man who sound like he know very well about Jusenkyo."

'If that's so then it's possible that this guy knows the cure too,' Ranma thought as he looked warily at Shampoo for any signs of deceit. 'I guess she may be telling the truth.' He reached out and held Shampoo's hands and looked intently into her eyes.

"Take me to this guy Shampoo," he said smoothly, adding a smile. "Together we can cure our curses."

"Oh Ranma," Shampoo said dreamily. "First go on date with Shampoo yes?"

"Sure, no problem," Ranma nodded and grinned a little too gleefully for Akane's liking. The next thing he knew, he found himself sailing through the sky.

"You're unbelievable!" he heard Akane scream.

Shampoo simply stared at Akane, surprised by the swift motion. She then momentarily glared at Akane – not that the other girl noticed, and cycled off in the direction of Ranma's flight path. Akane barely noticed Shampoo's departure as she was occupied with her thoughts.

'How dare he? And in front of me no less!' Akane seethed. Her whole body trembled with anger but then she slowly started to calm down. When she opened her eyes found that the street was empty and quiet. Added with the winds blowing and the darkening clouds, it felt depressing.

'Why do we always have to end up arguing?' she thought sadly. 'You said those words. Why don't you stay true to them?' Akane looked up at the dark sky, waiting for the rain to fall. 'How much longer Ranma? I want to tell you too but you just make it difficult.'

"_I'm so awkward…I could never get the words out."_

Akane smiled sadly as she remembered hearing Ranma saying that.

'It's hard to wait any longer,' she thought. 'Please Ranma…before it's too late.'

Akane stared at the clouds for a few more seconds before looking back down and continuing her journey back home alone.

"_There were so many things I always wanted to tell you."_

_

* * *

_

As Ranma flew through the air, he crossed both his arms and legs. He looked around and predicted where he would be landing. He soon reached the peak of his arc and started to drop back down. Ranma tried adjusting his fall so that he would sustain fewer injuries. He saw his landing spot and braced himself.

CRASH!

A number of branches broke off upon Ranma's impact but he remained stuck in the tree. He groaned as the pain surged through his body and he tried not to move suddenly. He looked to his left and noticed more branches that were snapped off by some kind of impact. Then realization hit him when he noticed a familiar pattern in the branches.

'Oh wait, this is the same park I crash-landed in two days ago,' Ranma thought. He sighed and then threw his head back. He stared at the leaves softly rustling in the wind above him.

'Damn it Akane. What the hell was that for?' Ranma frowned.

His musings were interrupted by a man calling out from below him.

"Oh, it's you again," he said, exasperation evident in his voice. He rubbed his forehead and sighed. Ranma noticed the man and then moved to free himself from the branches and jumped down.

"Please try not to crash here again. Maintaining this place is pretty demanding you know," he said, stressing his exhausted tone.

"Uh, right. Sorry, I'll try to keep away," Ranma said sheepishly.

"You said that last time," the man said flatly, implying he had little faith that Ranma would keep his word. Ranma's only response was a nervous laugh before hurriedly walking away. He noted the park was empty and it was starting to get dark. Just as he looked up, Ranma found himself shrinking to his female form as rain started to pour from the dark clouds. Ranma groaned in frustration and then ran off to find shelter.

She went into the streets and chose to wait under the roof of a closed shop. Ranma started to wring her clothes to dry them up a bit. In the end Ranma couldn't avoid changing forms. Somehow cold water happened to find her anywhere. Ranma sighed at the thought of her luck. They had been so close to the cursed water she needed back in China. It had also been equally close when the Guide sent a barrel of water from the 'Spring of Drowned Man'. But again fate decided to have fun with her.

'Well, not that I really care much about it anymore,' Ranma thought as she rested herself against the wall of the shop. It wasn't that Ranma had given up on it. It was just tiring to come so close to a solution and it usually ended up in it being taken away from her. She had accepted the fact that her curse may be incurable after all but every time an opportunity surfaced she'd run straight for it. She had not given up hope that one day a cure might present itself.

'Hope huh,' Ranma thought. In the past Ranma would discard such a sentimental word. However, she realized now that it was not to be taken lightly. Genuine hope could keep one go on living and fighting for their dreams despite the obstacles that come in the way.

'And now, so many obstacles are in the way,' Ranma thought, closing her eyes. She sighed, her exasperation evident. 'How am I going to solve the problem with the girls?' she thought.

Ranma noticed the rain starting to lift and it was now only a light shower. She pushed herself away from the wall to continue her path. She figured that traveling on rooftops was the quickest way and so she leaped onto a roof of a house and made her way towards home.

Not long after, the Tendo Dojo was in sight. Ranma jumped off the roof and landed back on the street. Suddenly Nerima seemed like a ghost town as no one else was walking around. It must be the weather. Then, she had the feeling that the rain was about to pour heavily again. So she rushed towards the Tendo Dojo. When she turned a corner, Ranma accidentally crashed into someone, causing both of them to fall.

"Oww…," Ranma groaned, rubbing her head. "Sorry, I didn't notice you," she said.

"It's alright," the young man said. He stood up and then offered a hand to Ranma. Ranma took the hand and she pulled herself up. She noticed the moment she let go of his hand, the man's eyes widened.

"You're…one of them," he said, a little shakily.

"Huh?" Ranma said.

"You're not…really a girl are you?" the man said. Ranma was stunned by his question.

"How…how'd you…?" Ranma asked. Her eyes widened as she recalled what Shampoo had said. "You're that guy. The one that knows about Jusenkyo?" she asked. The man didn't answer straight away but then nodded. His face wore a sad expression which made Ranma curious.

"For how long?" he asked in a low voice.

"What?" Ranma said.

"How long have you been cursed?" he asked, looking into Ranma's eyes. The depression in those eyes was so strong that Ranma nearly felt the same.

"About a year I think," she answered her eyes never away from the Chinese-looking stranger.

"But…it's too soon," he whispered. That statement was directed more to himself. He looked away and took a deep breath to calm down.

"What's your name?" he asked. His voice was heavy and broken as if regretting this meeting.

"Uh, Ranma," she simply answered, too confused to make up of what was happening.

"Is there…anyone you care for?" the man asked again. Ranma looked strangely at him while she thought of Akane. She couldn't answer with words but gave a small nod.

He raised his head and looked intently into Ranma's eyes.

"Ranma, make the best out of your life and appreciate the people around you," he said. Ranma stood still, surprised by the man's words while he just walked off. Before he went too far, Ranma heard the man saying softly "I'm sorry."

Ranma frowned, unsuccessful to make any sense of what had happened. She turned to ask some more questions from the man when she heard the sound of thunder closing in. Her attention was drawn towards the sky and when she looked back, the man was no longer around. She frowned as she tried to spot any signs of him. Thunder boomed over her again and Ranma decided to hurry back to the Tendo Dojo.

"I'm home!" Ranma called out as she entered the house. Kasumi was the one to greet her.

"Welcome back Ranma. Where were you?" she said, sounding worried.

"A small side trip," Ranma shook her head, figuring that Kasumi understood what she meant.

"Go change, Ranma and see what's wrong with Akane. She looked rather depressed when she came home," Kasumi said.

Ranma sighed and nodded. She went past Kasumi and into the kitchen to heat up some water. Kasumi followed Ranma into the kitchen and found her filling up the kettle with water.

"What is it this time?" she chided. The guilty red-headed girl flinched at her words as she placed the kettle on the stove. Ranma stood quiet but she felt Kasumi's demanding look behind her.

"She's really just over-reacting," Ranma answered, shaking her head a little.

"You're not really answering the question," Kasumi said. Ranma felt annoyed by her persistence but there was no way she could avoid Kasumi.

"I just agreed to date Shampoo so that she'd take me to this person who knows about Jusenkyo," Ranma said and then grabbed the kettle of hot water and changed back to his real form. "Though, I've already met him. But as soon as I did, he vanished," Ranma muttered. He saw the look Kasumi was giving and understood.

"I'll go talk to her," he sighed. At Kasumi's smile Ranma nodded a little and walked past her out of the kitchen.

He arrived at Akane's door and momentarily paused before knocking on it.

"Who is it?" he heard her say. Ranma then pushed the door open. Upon seeing Ranma, Akane folded her arms across her chest and glared at him.

"I didn't ask you to come in," Akane said bitterly.

"Look again," Ranma said smartly, gesturing at his feet that were just behind the border between Akane's room and the hallway. Akane kept on glaring at Ranma from her place at her desk. Ranma stood with his arms in his pockets, glaring back at her. After a lengthy stalemate, Akane leaned back into her chair with her left leg raised and resting on her right knee. Suddenly it seemed to Ranma that he was talking to Nabiki.

"So how was your date?" Akane asked, more mockingly than out of curiosity.

"I didn't even see her on the way back home after you sent me flying," Ranma replied.

"Oh really?" Akane said sarcastically. Ranma sighed frustratingly. He closed his eyes and shook his head.

"What do you want?" Akane asked coldly.

"Kasumi wanted me to say something," Ranma answered.

"Well?" Akane was curious but still held that hard look. He foot started tapping as she waited for Ranma to continue. She froze when Ranma inhaled deeply.

"You need to apologize," Ranma blurted.

"What?" Akane said, flabbergasted.

"It's your fault anyway," Ranma shrugged.

"I can't believe what you're saying!" Akane yelled as she shot up from her chair. She didn't pay any mind as the chair hit the desk behind it, causing her pencil to fall off.

"Well you're the one who's always looking at things with a wrong perspective," Ranma said.

"What 'wrong perspective'? You agreed to go on a date with Shampoo!" Akane retaliated.

"I was only after the cure!" Ranma shouted.

Akane scoffed and rolled her eyes. "Oh yeah, sure. How many times I've heard that before?"

"You were right there!" Ranma made a gesture with his hand to emphasize his point.

"Okay fine! But what about the other times huh?" Akane demanded, placing her arms on her hips.

"It's always been about the cure! There's no other reason I would go out with her!" Ranma retorted.

"That doesn't give you the right to enjoy those dates!" Akane yelled, stepping closer to him.

"Have I ever said I did? I always only have one goal in mind, the cure!" Ranma replied, jutting a thumb to his chest.

"Oh, so then if I asked you out on a date where I offer you the chance of a cure you'd agree then?" Akane asked. She could almost deafen Ranma with her loud tone and her close distance from him.

"Precisely!" Ranma answered back loudly. He felt relieved that he was able to say that.

Akane froze at Ranma's reply. She wasn't able to come up with something to say. Ranma saw the look of hurt evident on Akane's face and regretted his answer. He quickly mustered up an apology but before he could speak, Akane had beaten him.

"Then, you wouldn't go out with me if I didn't have your cure?" she asked in a quivery tone.

"A-Akane?" was all Ranma could say.

"What happened to accepting your girl-side?" Akane said softly, avoiding his gaze.

"…_my girl side was always a part of me anyway."_

Ranma stood in silence as he remembered his words. He looked away as he thought of a reply.

"Despite that I still hope for a cure. If there's a chance I'll go for it," he said, his anger already dissipating.

"Why? Why are you so persistent? A lot of things have happened because of your curse," Akane sighed.

"That's why I'm searching for a cure," Ranma said, staring at the reason of his persistence in front of him. Akane's head then shot up and Ranma was met with a strong yet fragile gaze.

"And when you come across a solution, you always reject my help," Akane said.

"Idiot, you've seen how things had been," Ranma said, growing frustrated again.

"I can take care of myself you know!" Akane replied.

"No you can't! I always had to be there! I always needed to be the one who saves you, who protects you!" Ranma said.

"I never asked you to!" Akane retorted.

"But you always needed to be! Half the time I can't even focus because you're always in the way!"

Ranma's words for the second time caused a look of hurt to appear on Akane's face. Akane tore her gaze away from Ranma as tears started welling in her eyes.

"I-I'm in your way?" she asked weakly.

"W-Wait, Akane…I meant…"

"Get out!" Akane screamed and slammed the door shut in Ranma's face. Ranma's patience had already withered by then and he made a low growling sound almost loud enough for Akane to hear.

"I wasn't even in your room!" Ranma said before stomping off towards the stairs. As he walked down, he slipped pass Kasumi who had a disappointed look. He didn't want to see such an expression on her face so he avoided her gaze.

"I'm gonna go take a bath," Ranma said as he disappeared into the bathroom.

At the same instant, Akane's anger towards Ranma had already subsided and she was sitting with her back rested against the door. Her face held no expression but deep inside Akane felt sadness welling up.

'I don't get it. We've always been fighting. He even uses the same words he usually said,' Akane thought. 'Why does it feel so different now?' she sighed. Akane then rested her head on her upright knees.

* * *

Ranma leaned against the side of the furo with the top of his right knee raised out of the water. He had been regulating his breathing to calm himself for quite some time. He felt relaxed being submerged in the warm water. Even his thoughts seemed to slow down, giving him time to focus more on each matter.

'Maybe I shouldn't have said it that way,' Ranma thought. 'Maybe making it sound lighter would've been better.' He frowned and shook his head, causing ripples to form rapidly on the water surface.

"Ah, who am I kidding," he scolded himself. "I sounded like a jerk," he ended weakly.

Now he was the one who needed to apologize. He groaned slightly but gave in to thoughts of what to say to Akane. Then, he started feeling uncharacteristically tired and his consciousness started slipping away.

'You're so frustrating Akane,' he thought.

He didn't notice how his mind suddenly became blank and gradually his head started to sink into the water. His eyes slowly closed when the top of his head reached below the surface. He looked like he was sleeping. Small bubbles of air escaped from his lips and floated to the top.

Suddenly his eyes shot open and he sat up straight, bringing his head back to breathable air. Water splashed out of the furo due to his sudden movement. Ranma coughed out the little amount of water that he hadn't meant to swallow. His airway became clear once more and he started to breathe normally.

'Whoa…that's the sixth time this month,' he thought. He felt a sort of pulsing sensation in his head and his heart was beating rapidly. 'I gotta quit thinking too much in the furo.'

He shook his head and then stepped out of the furo. After drying himself with a towel and putting on his clothes, he walked out of the bathroom. Not more than a few steps later, Ranma and Akane met at the bottom of the stairs. When they saw each other, quickly their heads turned away.

"Dinner's ready," Akane said sourly before walking off to the dining area. Ranma blinked and then looked on as Akane walked off. He shook his head and then followed her.

Everyone was at their place. The foods had been distributed and another typical dinner went on. Ranma and Genma fought for food as usual while the others simply dismissed the immature display of the two. Soon it started to turn into a brawl. They jumped here and there around the table while everyone else kept on eating as if enjoying live entertainment in some restaurant. Eventually Ranma powered over his father and kicked him out of the house into the pouring rain outside.

"Serves you right!" Ranma taunted while the panda glared at him. Then, Ranma's laughs abruptly stopped which caused everyone to direct their attention towards him.

The young boy stood still. His eyes seemed glazed and void of any expression. His right foot advanced slowly towards the yard of the house where small puddles had started forming. Feeling as confused as the others, Akane stood up and approached Ranma warily. Ranma's steps seemed so slow that it was hard to tell whether he was moving.

"Ranma?" Akane called out, feeling nervous and bewildered at the same time.

"The water," Akane heard Ranma whisper. Those words made Akane shiver and gave rise to panic within her.

"Ranma!" she called out again. She knew Ranma noticed her when his head snapped up a little.

"W-What?" Ranma said, blinking his eyes in confusion. He turned around and noticed Akane looking rather worried along with everyone else.

"Is something wrong?" Akane asked. She felt relieved that Ranma sounded normal again.

'But what was that? Why did he sound so…so…?' Akane thought. She shivered as she replayed the small two words Ranma had whispered mere seconds ago.

"Y-Yeah, I'm fine." Ranma shook his head a little. "Probably a little tired," he said before walking towards the stairs. Akane thought of following him but dismissed the idea and went back to the table.

* * *

"What the hell was that?" Ranma asked himself. He was sitting in the middle of the darkened room. For some reason he felt safer with the room that way.

'But safe from what?' Ranma thought.

He managed to look normal in front of the others downstairs when in actuality he was deathly spooked. His mind became blank and yet he was aware the whole time. He couldn't feel his entire body or more like he couldn't control it. He felt his foot inching forward. He remembered how everything looked blurry. There was also a strange sensation. He couldn't explain it as he was in that state for a short amount of time.

'Not that I want to be in a situation like that again,' he thought. 'But somehow, I just know that this ain't the end of it.'

Then, an image of the young brown-haired man he bumped into earlier flashed through his thoughts. With his dark-blue raincoat, a pair of black trousers and sneakers, the man looked very much normal. But he carried an ominous feeling with him. Though, it didn't feel quite threatening enough to qualify as some new villain. And yet, the darkness on his features was more spine-chilling than any enemy Ranma had faced.

'I wonder...,' Ranma thought as he stared fixatedly at the dark wall of the room.

* * *

Okay, chapter 1 of part 1 ends here. I hope it was interesting enough to read because personally I felt that there's not much to this chapter. Anyway, thanks for reading and I'd appreciate your reviews. We'll meet again, hopefully not too far into the future.


	3. P1: Late Night Encounter

Guys, sorry for the long wait but here it is. Thank you for the reviews on the first chapter and the prologue. It's really nice to know that I've started off well. Hopefully my quality of writing would remain till the end. :)

Yes I know the chapter's shorter than the last but this was what I planned in my mind (yeah, mental drafting again...haha). It may or may not be interesting but read it. It's part of the story so it's kinda important (haha).

Fusoku no Kizuna's next chapter is being written out currently but I can't guarantee it'll come out real soon, so be patient as you've been so far (sorry).

Anyways, I hope you enjoy this chapter.

**The Curse of Jusenkyo**

Part 1

Late Night Encounter

The night was cold, still fresh after a few hours of rain. The sky was clear now and a number of faintly shining stars were visible. Nerima was quiet and dark, save for the street lamps that shone with dull, yellow lights. While everyone else was presumably asleep, Ranma was on the still damp roof. He had carefully chosen a drier spot to lie down. His eyes ached with weariness but his thoughts were racing. He kept recalling what had happened earlier that day. It was something far different than what he had faced in all his life and he didn't have any explanation for it.

He pondered on whether he should go and see the old ghoul about this. He was still feeling sour towards Shampoo and added with today's encounter, he was more upset than before. He really didn't want to deal with her for the time being. He also considered searching for that man he bumped into earlier on. But it would be hard to trace him now. He also doubted that Dr. Tofu would be able to help him on this.

'But it wouldn't hurt to ask him,' Ranma thought. He thought back on how Dr. Tofu had quite an extensive knowledge of many things. Plus he hadn't seen the doctor for quite some time. He heard Dr. Tofu had gone off to Tokyo City for something. It didn't really matter to him so he hadn't bothered much to find out what exactly. Recently the physician had reopened his clinic and the family had yet to go and welcome him.

He sat up and looked at the other darkened houses. He figured maybe a little roof-hopping would ease his thoughts or get him tired enough to fall asleep. His eyes had long adjusted to the dark so he wasn't worried about losing his way. He stood up and leaped onto a nearby roof and continued on to the other roofs.

Ranma let his instincts take over him and all his focus was towards the next roof. His troubled thoughts were soon subdued from the thrill of leaping from one roof to the other. He felt like he was chasing someone from above. Like a ninja on an assassination mission, not that he would want to be. He smiled at the silly thought.

Ranma landed on one roof and stopped. In front of him he saw a dark void separating him from another section of quiet homes. He could see the street below and a fence that ran along the side of the void. He recognized that it was the canal. He was puzzled and a little shaken that his feet had brought him here.

There it was again. It felt like a calling and Ranma wanted to answer it. But his partly conscious mind was able to hold him in place. But he still stared at the dark water. Just then, he heard a splash, one that sounded out of place. It managed to bring him back to reality and quickly he noted that something had fallen into the canal.

Letting curiosity get the best of him, Ranma leaped onto the fence and warily walked on it towards where he figured the splash was. He peered down into the darkness, trying to find anything unusual.

"Hey, anybody down there?" he called out. He jumped a little when he heard a dog barking.

'Damn dog. Could've fallen in,' he thought, glancing back at the general direction of the well awake canine. Soon, he heard more barks and yelps coming from other houses. It was annoying – probably not only to him, but then it clicked. Something had alerted the dogs.

'What is it?' Ranma wondered, looking back into the dark canal. He tried to feel for a trace left by the mysterious entity. He found it. It was still there. Not only that but he recognized this aura.

"Hey!" he called out, louder than before. He could hear more splashes. It sounded like someone was thrashing about in the water. Before he could call out again, he felt the fence violently shake. Ranma lost his balance and fell straight into the water.

The water was very cold, enough to cause Ranma to shiver and sneeze. Ranma quickly got to her feet but then froze. That strange pulling sensation returned to her again. It was stronger now. The relatively slow current felt like a raging river around her legs. And she was welcoming the threat of being washed away.

Her blanked mind suddenly came to life as she felt something slippery wrapping itself around her waist. Before she could protest, she felt herself being tugged out of the water. She was about to yell when it released its hold on her. She managed to land on her feet and then got into a fighting stance.

"What do you want Pantyhose Taro?" she warned. Ranma wasn't able to see the monster clearly but the feeling of the tentacle and the familiar aura was enough to identify him. Though, upon closer examination, his aura was disturbed.

Ranma waited for an attack that never came. She lowered her fists and eased her stance.

"You wanna tell me something?" Ranma asked. She could barely see the monster's silhouette nodding in affirmation. "Okay, come on, follow me," she said. Just as she turned, she felt the gust from Taro's wings as he took off. She looked up and glared at the flying beast, not that he'd notice. As she walked, Ranma wondered what it was that Taro wanted to say.

'And in the middle of the night too,' Ranma complained to herself.

Soon they reached the Tendo home. Ranma jumped over the wall to the dojo entrance while Taro slowly landed in the compound.

"Wait here. I'll go get the hot water," Ranma said and then went into the house. As to not alarm the sleeping family, she made sure her movements were as quiet as possible. Ranma entered the kitchen and started to heat up some water. After some time, and feeling that the water was hot enough, Ranma poured the contents of the kettle over herself. Ranma made sure to leave some water for Taro to change back.

'I wonder if this is enough,' he thought, looking inside the half-filled kettle. Then, the kitchen lights turned on. Ranma suddenly felt like a burglar caught in the act, not that he was doing anything suspicious.

"Ranma? You're still awake?" Akane said sleepily. Ranma turned around and looked at her, simultaneously placing the kettle back on the stove. Her right hand dropped from the light switch while the other held up the kitchen blinds. Her eyes were half-lidded and looked like they were about to close at that moment.

"Y-Yeah," Ranma responded. Akane's hand then flew up to her mouth as she yawned.

"What're you doing?" she asked, taking on a nagging tone – a tired one, weakly scolding him as if he had come home really late. Well, he was sort of late.

"Uh, nothing," Ranma replied lamely. "Just, couldn't sleep," he finished. Akane forced her eyes to fully open.

"Is it because of earlier today?" she asked. She gave Ranma a concerned look.

"I told you it was nothing," Ranma replied, trying not to sound annoyed. Instead of the frustrated response he expected, Akane just sighed. She walked over to the fridge and opened it to search for something to drink. She pulled out a carton of milk and closed the door. She reached for a mug and set it on the table, immediately pouring the milk into it.

"Why won't you tell me what's wrong?" Akane asked, not looking at Ranma. She filled up half the mug and then replaced the carton back into the fridge. Akane pulled up a stool and sat at the counter, enjoying her drink.

"I have the right to know," she murmured, though audible enough for Ranma. He noticed that she was pouting a little.

'There she goes, trying to act cute again,' Ranma thought.

She wasn't looking at him but Ranma knew she expected him to respond – a correct response by the way.

Instead of the quick reply his mind had come up with, he chose to carefully construct his words. He didn't want them to argue this late at night especially with her still half asleep.

"I…Because I don't understand it either," Ranma said. He waited but Akane just went on with her drink. He figured he should add something. "I just seemed to freeze, and then…well…I…," he trailed off, not knowing how to describe it.

Akane then set down the mug as she finished and wiped the trace of milk stuck above her lip. Ranma looked at her warily but then, she smiled, much to his surprise.

"Thanks," she said. It was a rather strange moment to be thanking him Ranma thought. Was it sarcasm? He tried searching her tone but there was none of it. He managed to return a smile even though he didn't really understand why. But Ranma realized this silent exchange of emotions was as good as a conversation.

It was rare for these momentary truces to happen between them and they had all been pleasant. Yet, there was a significant difference to this one.

With nothing more to say, Akane left the counter. She walked over to the sink and washed the mug. After placing it on the drying rack she headed for the exit.

"Good night," Ranma wished her, halting her steps. She turned and glanced back at him with a smile.

"Good night," she replied softly adding a small nod to it. With that, Akane went out of the kitchen.

Ranma sat by the stove, staring at where Akane had stood. He smiled at how well the conversation turned out to be. It was then that he noticed his face was burning. He hoped that Akane hadn't notice it.

Then, Ranma abruptly straightened up when he remembered why he was in the kitchen. He grabbed the kettle and went to close the lights before heading back out to the dojo.

"Hey, over here," Ranma said, loud enough for the winged beast to hear. He felt Taro tugging the kettle with one of his tentacles. Ranma waited to see as Taro's form shrunk to his original human body.

"So what'd you want?" Ranma asked, folding his arms across his chest.

"You didn't bring me clothes?" Taro said. From the tone of his voice, Ranma could guess that the naked boy was frowning.

"It's in the middle of the night. No one's up to see you," Ranma shrugged.

"Oh, I was just afraid that a girl like you would freak out when talking to a guy in this state," Taro said mockingly, which earned him a blow to his head. Ranma then turned and walked towards the house.

"Get in the dojo, I'll get a towel or pantyhose if you'd like," Ranma said, grinning at his witty comeback. He received a kettle thrown to the back of his head. Ranma seethed but just let it slide.

Taro slid the entrance open and walked into the dojo. He felt around to find the light switch. Quickly he gave up on it and just sat in the middle of the floor. He shivered as his lower half touched the cold floor. He sneezed, sending echoes travelling around the empty dark dojo. Then, he could hear another door sliding open. He heard a switch being flicked and was unprepared by the sudden burst of light. Abruptly he covered his eyes. Ranma walked over to Taro and tossed him a towel.

"Here," he simply said. Taro caught it and stood up to cover himself. "So what's up?" Ranma asked. His curiosity was at its peak. The other teen had uncharacteristically pulled him out of the water to safety. It was dark though and Taro might not have noticed that it was Ranma and mistaken him for someone else. But rarely would there be anyone else falling into the canal and surely he would've recognized Ranma's voice.

"I figured that you may be able to solve something," Taro said, interrupting Ranma's thoughts. Ranma frowned at Taro's rather odd words.

"Solve what?" Ranma asked as he joined Taro on the floor. He looked intently at the other teen, waiting for him to continue.

"Something's happening to me," Taro said after a while of silence.

Compared to the conversation in the kitchen, this one was starting to feel very different. The dojo felt heavy and dark despite the lights. The atmosphere made the two feel uncomfortable, as if they were being watched.

"I've been experiencing this strange sensation," Taro began. "Water…every time I come across it there'd be this pulling effect. There were numerous times when I was subconsciously trying to get close to water. Not only that, but I feel like wanting to be engulfed by it. I'd be conscious all the time though but I'm not able to control myself. It's like being imprisoned in your own mind," Taro stopped and then realized that Ranma was looking away, a frown on his face.

Ranma was shaken. He had heard the same sensations he felt – though mildly, earlier that day. And now he learned that he wasn't the only one to feel this. His frown deepened.

"Since when did this start to happen?" he asked, looking intently at Taro. His tone was more heavy and serious. Something definitely strange was happening to them.

"It's been almost a month," Taro answered. Ranma nodded slightly and brought a hand to his chin.

"I've felt the same thing too recently," Ranma replied.

"You must've felt it again when you fell in the canal," Taro said.

"Yeah, I did," Ranma said silently as if he was being careful – wary that something was listening to their conversation. The dojo fell into silence as the two contemplated their situations.

"Do you think it has something to do with the curse?" Taro said. They weren't looking at each other as both were deep in their thoughts. Taro's words added some sense to the problem and Ranma was already trying to link it with the mystery.

"Possibly," Ranma replied. "If it's true, then everyone else would experience the same thing."

Silence haunted the vast room again. Both were a bit shaken by these thoughts. Possibly, there was something more to their Jusenkyo curses. Which meant that the others were in possible danger too.

Danger? How did that word come up?

"I wonder what'll happen to us," Taro said. Ranma looked up at him and couldn't search for a reply. He noticed the slight fear in his voice. It was perfectly rational for him to feel that way. They were dealing with something they couldn't fully comprehend. And Ranma had to admit that he was afraid too. But now, he was getting tired of the heavy conversation and just wanted it to end.

"You wanna stay for the night?" Ranma asked, trying to lift the graveness in the air. Taro looked up and lifted an eyebrow at Ranma's uncharacteristically friendly offer. Ranma in turn frowned, quickly detecting Taro's facial expression.

"What?" Ranma said. Taro chuckled and shook his head.

"Never mind," Taro replied. "It's better if I left. I'd freeze to death in just this," he said, gesturing at his temporary covering.

Ranma had meant that Taro would sleep in the house where it would be warmer but since he made his choice, Ranma just went on with a different question.

"So what're you gonna do now?" he said. Taro stood up and walked over to the entrance he came through.

"I'll just…fly off," Taro said, looking out into the dark. The rain was starting again as heard by the sounds of water droplets hitting the roof.

"I leave the rest to you," Taro said. Ranma frowned at the teen's hollow tone. Was he in that state again? Alarmed, Ranma was about to reach out to him but was abruptly stopped by a towel thrown to his face. When he removed it, Taro had already ran out and transformed. He could feel Taro's presence dissipating away. Quickly Ranma shut the door so as to not get entranced by the rain as well.

"_I leave the rest to you."_

That had an uneasy feeling to it. Ranma, for once was worried about Taro. It sounded as though…

Ranma shook his head sharply, ridding his mind of unpleasant thoughts.

'Don't get yourself in trouble Pantyhose jerk,' he thought. Ranma stood still for a while and then turned towards the house, not forgetting to turn off the dojo lights. Ranma quietly entered the house and crept up the stairs. He went into his room and slept beside his father, who was surprisingly sleeping in his human form despite the chilly night.

Ranma lied down on his back with his hands pillowing his head and stared at the dark ceiling. Then, his gaze shifted to his father who had his back turned at Ranma. He looked up at the ceiling again and took a deep breath, letting it out with a dragged sigh.

'I'm thinking too much,' he thought. He sighed again and closed his eyes as he worked on blanking his mind. He was too tired to deal with this right now. There was still time to figure this out. Ranma then turned to his side and just stared at the wall faintly illuminated by the external light. Despite his efforts, his thoughts still swerved towards the puzzling subject he had unfortunately encountered.

Desperate, he thought about the conversation he had with Akane in the kitchen. No matter how much he wanted to though, he couldn't restructure the scene in his mind even though it had been only a few minutes ago. But he could recall quite perfectly how beautiful her smile was. Her sleepy look made her seemed cute and her equally tired and soft tone had a strange but nice effect on him. A small smile appeared on Ranma's face. He held on to Akane's image until he slowly drifted off to sleep.

* * *

And that's it for this chapter. Hm, I realize I didn't use any scene breaks here (cool...haha) But there were deleted scenes. It's just that I couldn't find places to put them. Hope that it was somewhat interesting. Don't give up on this story yet (it's only the second chapter). Next time around the mystery starts becoming clearer for Ranma.


	4. P1: Slipping Away

Disclaimer: I do not have any rights over Ranma 1/2 and its characters.

Here we are, the new chapter for The Curse of Jusenkyo. It's been more than a month since I updated and a lot longer for FnK. I'll get its newest chapter up soon as the draft is close to completion.

Getting on with the story, this chapter is relatively longer than the previous one. Ranma continues on to search for clues to solve the mystery. I hope this is a good one. Enjoy! :)

* * *

**The Curse of Jusenkyo**

Part 1

Slipping Away

Nothing felt much better than an early morning training session. The body always became much more alive in that way which – in contrary to others' impressions – made one feel fresher. And the heat radiating off the body was compromised by the cool air and damp grass under their feet. The sun was hardly visible and only a small part of the sky, far off the horizon lit up with a brilliant mixture of orange and yellow.

Ranma had always enjoyed these moments wherever he was, though it was best to keep this from his father. It spared him from listening to the old man's rant about staying focused. Even so, it was always satisfying when he could catch his father off guard.

His mind drifted off again, though not because of the scenery. A lot went on in his mind, particularly about yesterday. That then brought him to wonder – why hadn't he changed into a girl yet despite all the water under his feet?

"You're open!" Genma called, followed swiftly with a kick that sent Ranma crashing into the koi pond.

'Be careful what you wish for,' Ranma heard a little voice said.

Quickly Ranma leapt out of the water and charged at the laughing old man. She threw in a series of swift blows, all either blocked or dodged by Genma. Genma noticed the lack of concentration in Ranma. He avoided another blow and with one move knocked Ranma down on her back. Ranma groaned but as she was recovering Genma suddenly held his hand up.

"Enough for now," he commanded. He deeply inhaled while he adjusted his gi. "You seem distracted. Something on your mind boy?"

It wasn't evident but Ranma could make out the concern in his voice. Naturally a father would be but it always seemed strange when it came to Genma. He never really did have that sort of fatherly touch since as long as Ranma could remember. She pitied the old man though, but she didn't want to talk about it just yet – everything was still unclear to her. But her father would then probably pester her all day. Might as well get it done now.

"Hey Pop, have you been feeling strange lately? Around water especially," she asked. Genma looked at her, confused by such a question.

"You mean like, water finds me a lot at ridiculous times?" Genma offered.

"No, no," Ranma shook her head, though she had to agree that it happened quite frequently. "I mean…feeling attracted to water. But you can't really control that feeling," Ranma clarified.

"Uh huh," Genma muttered, putting on a thoughtful expression which really meant that he was lost. Ranma groaned in frustration and stood up.

"Lately, have you ever felt like jumping or splashing your body with water for no reason?" she asked, exasperated. Again Genma looked confused, but he answered.

"No, not at all. That'd be strange. Why? Do I look like I'm doing that?" he said. Ranma frowned at the answer then shook her head.

"No reason. Just wanted to ask," Ranma said monotonously, her mind already gearing. Genma frowned but before he could say anything further they heard Kasumi's call for breakfast.

"Already? But…oh," Ranma's words died down upon noticing the beaming sun. As the rest of the family woke up, father and son – daughter re-entered the house to enjoy another wonderful serving of Kasumi's cooking.

* * *

A day of school had finished and with it being the end of the week, students were sighing in relief. Though, the rest of the weekend had a few assignments to complete but that could be attended to in a short amount of time. Ranma wasn't interested with that at the moment. In fact, he didn't exactly know what they needed to do. Oh well, he could ask Akane later.

All day he had been thinking over and over about the possible explanations to what was happening to him, but his father's response that morning created a loophole in his theory. He needed to confirm it with someone else and the only ones around currently were the Amazons. Ryoga would be too much of a hassle to find.

Then there was something else. He hadn't felt that sort of 'entranced' sensation when he fell into the koi pond. Was he imagining that sensation the day before? No, it couldn't be possible. It wasn't a feeling that could be easily created, unless he was mad. But he needed consistent proof to link all the clues and come up with a conclusion and to do that he needed words from other Jusenkyo victims.

"Hey Akane, go on ahead. I wanna stop by at the Cat Café for a while," Ranma interrupted the silence. Akane stopped and turned to look at him. She noted how rare it was to see him walking on the road beside her.

"Why?" she asked in a 'ready to blow' tone. However, Ranma was quick with a response.

"I just wanna ask Mousse and Shampoo about what's happening to me. And Cologne too of course," he continued.

He could see Akane's boiling anger starting to wither. Ranma loosened up and cheered internally for his success.

"Oh, you think they can help you?" Akane asked, sounding hopeful. Strange...wasn't Ranma supposed to be the one feeling that way?

"I hope so. I need to ask them about it to confirm my theory," he said.

"Theory?" Akane said amusedly.

"What?" Ranma frowned.

"Nah, nothing," Akane shook her head but was still sneering. "I just never thought you'd use that word," she continued.

"Hey, I've used that word several times before," Ranma said, feeling offended but Akane just giggled. "Anyway, I think that it may have something to do with Jusenkyo. But there're a few pieces missing; which is why I need to ask the others." He looked away, imitating a pondering investigator.

Akane smiled, amused at how he looked ridiculous and critical at the same time. Despite her worry, she felt sort of better to see him like this. His determination made her feel more confident in him.

"Ok then," Akane piped up, surprising Ranma. "I hope that whatever it is, you'll be able to solve it," Akane said. Ranma stared at her and nodded mutely while Akane kept smiling. She then turned and started walking away.

"H-Hey Akane," Ranma called out when she was a few steps away. Akane stopped and whirled around.

"Yeah?"

Ranma paused and he didn't really understood why. He didn't understand why he called out to her either. He just felt like wanting a little more time with her. He didn't understand that too.

"S-See you later," he finally said.

Akane smiled and nodded before turning away and continued on home. Ranma stood there watching her for a while before heading off to the café.

'Heh, I'm starting to get the hang of making her smile more,' he thought, smiling himself.

His expression then turned serious as he assessed what was known so far. Taro was experiencing the same thing he did, hinting that other Jusenkyo victims were facing this too. However, with his father's denial of being 'attracted' to water, that possibility weakened. If Mousse and Shampoo were having the same occurrences then Ranma could confirm that something was going on with their curses.

Soon he arrived at the restaurant, still open and looking quite busy. He walked in and looked around for any one of the three.

"Airen!" he flinched at Shampoo's loud, cheery voice. He suddenly felt terribly embarrassed but kept his composure as Shampoo walked – or more like bounced up to him.

"We go on date?" she blurted. Why did she always seem so positive about such things?

"Uh no," Ranma replied. "I wanna ask you something. Mousse too. It's pretty important."

"Oh, sorry but Shampoo busy," she said, immediately turning away to serve the customers.

'But…she had been ecstatic about going on a date,' Ranma thought.

"Leave them, they're still working," Cologne came up to him. "What is it?" she said.

Ranma wanted to protest and insist that he met with Mousse and Shampoo themselves but he figured Cologne should also know about their daily activities and occurrences including this anomaly they may be facing.

"Come, sit down," she lightly ordered, leading Ranma to an empty table. "There're a few more orders so wait here," Cologne said and went away into the kitchen.

* * *

Ukyo was rushing to catch up but still she didn't see any sign of them. She was starting to think that they had probably reached home. But then, when she turned a corner, Akane came to view. She wondered where Ranma had gone – she could've asked him herself.

"Akane!" Ukyo called out.

The other girl stopped upon hearing her name and looked behind at Ukyo rushing towards her. Instinctively, Akane went into defense mode and was ready to counter Ukyo. To her surprise though, Ukyo stopped in front of Akane and took a few moments to catch her breath.

"Uh…something wrong Ukyo?" Akane asked, lowering her hands.

"No…not me," Ukyo replied, still panting. "Ranma…what's going on with him? He seemed distracted in class."

"Hm, yeah," Akane said dismissively.

"Is he bothered by something?" Ukyo asked.

"A lot's been going on his mind," Akane answered lazily.

"Really? Like what?" Ukyo asked.

"I don't know," Akane sighed. 'My...she's quite annoying huh,' she thought.

"Hey come on. You can tell me. We're friends right?" Ukyo smiled. Akane only looked skeptically at her.

"We're friends?" she replied monotonously.

"Oh come on! What harm can telling me do?" Ukyo exclaimed.

Akane relented, seeing the logic in those words.

"Ranma thinks that something's wrong with his curse," she said solemnly.

"Which is…?" Ukyo asked.

"I don't know," Akane replied, shaking her head. "He doesn't understand it himself so there wasn't much he could say about it."

"You're telling me the truth?" Ukyo said, still doubting her rival's answer.

"Yeah I am," Akane replied with a little venom but kept her expression impassive.

"Oh…," Ukyo murmured. They avoided each other's eyes. As the two of them were not used to these kinds of conversations, it felt pretty awkward to be in such a situation.

"But," suddenly Akane said. Ukyo glanced at her but Akane kept her gaze low. "Whatever it is, I'm sure he'll find a way through it. He always does," her voice trailed off at the last bit. Ukyo stared at her a while and then smiled. Akane took notice of that.

"Yeah," Ukyo said, nodding a little. Akane smiled back in response.

* * *

"Alright," Cologne said and then knocked the table with her staff. Ranma jolted up and muttered a curse. He rubbed his eyes and shook his head but was still feeling dazed. Then he noticed a jumble of voices from all directions. He realized he was still in the restaurant and he figured that probably not much time had passed.

"Wake up," Cologne lightly ordered. "It's been nearly an hour and thank you for not drooling all over the table," she continued.

Ranma's eyebrows arched a bit but he was still struggling to keep awake. Though, he was aware enough to notice Cologne peering at him.

"Hey old ghoul," Ranma said hoarsely, prompting the old woman to knock his head.

"What did you come here for son-in-law?" she asked.

Ranma rubbed the sore spot on his head and glared at the old woman. He let out a groan and strained for his eyes to fully open. He straightened up and took a deep breath. He glanced around at the people in the cafe before looking back at Cologne.

"Have Shampoo and Mousse been acting strangely? Particularly around water," Ranma asked. Cologne frowned. The question was very much unexpected from him.

"Why are you asking?" she asked back.

"I need to know," Ranma replied, now looking a lot more serious.

Cologne then leaned in a little closer.

"Define 'strange'," she said.

Ranma paused and thought for a while of words that would be enough to explain clearly.

"Unwillingly being attracted to water," he finally said.

Cologne's frown deepened.

"No, Shampoo never felt like that," Shampoo cut in. Judging from her free hands, no new orders were being made and she had probably been curious of what Ranma and Cologne were talking about.

"Really...," Ranma said, noting her answer. "What about you Mousse?" he called out.

"What?" the spectacled boy responded as he approached Ranma.

"Have you ever felt like being attracted to water against your own will?" Ranma asked. Mousse frowned at the question and then shook his head.

"No," he answered.

"Why Airen ask this?" Shampoo said.

Ranma did not seem to have heard Shampoo's question. He was in his own mind, trying to rethink the situation. The answer to the puzzle was slipping away and he was not able to figure out other possibilities at the moment.

"I think it is best that you go off now," Cologne suggested, breaking his thoughts. "I'll look this up and I'll inform you in the nearest convenient time."

Ranma was distracted but nodded.

"I look forward to that," he said and slowly stood up. "I also think that it may have something to do with Jusenkyo."

"Good, it'll give a start for where to search," Cologne replied.

"Yeah," Ranma said and then exited the cafe.

Ranma kept on thinking while his feet lead him instinctively to the Tendo home. In the beginning, the encounter with the man who seemed to know of Jusenkyo and Taro's share of the same experience hinted that the Jusenkyo curse had a part in this. But his father's statement added with the denial from Shampoo and Mousse casted doubts on that possibility. There were no consistent proofs and this troubled Ranma. Things seemed more dangerous now, as if he was suffering from an unknown disease that had no clear cause or solution.

Suddenly, Ranma felt a strange sensation – like something growing within him and it felt hot. In fact, the heat was building up until it started to burn. Soon it spread out to his entire body. He had already stopped walking and could only stand still as enormous light started blinding him.

"Is something wrong with Ranma?" Shampoo asked. She and Mousse looked expectantly at Cologne.

"Did you sense a disturbance in his chi?" she said after a while.

"It didn't feel significant enough though," Mousse answered after recalling it.

"Yes and there's something else too," Cologne continued. "Magical energy – it's growing within him at a phenomenal pace, quickly reaching instability."

"What…What will happen to him then?" Shampoo asked worriedly.

Ranma was on his knees and struggled to hold himself up. His whole body shook and he couldn't find anything to lay eyes on except the white light covering his eyes. He was disorientated and now his body started going numb.

"I can't say for sure," Cologne said gravely. "I don't know what caused this or its consequences," she paused and then continued in a somewhat whispered tone. "His magical energy – it's like it has mutated."

Ranma lay flat on the road. He felt like he was on fire. He wasn't able to move or utter a thing. The dizziness was too overwhelming. He wanted to yell but he couldn't. Then, he felt a strong force radiating out of his body. He felt like he was going to burst and he screamed. An explosion – he realized it from the sudden burst of energy and the sound produced.

Then, everything started clearing up again. He could see now and he felt his body cooling down. Ranma remained immobile for a while before slowly getting back on his knees. Then he realized – something felt different. He looked down at his chest and found it to have swollen. He looked at his hands and saw that it was smaller. He stood up and noticed the change in height.

"Wha –," Ranma opened her mouth and then shut it instantly. Ranma realized then that she had changed forms without any water. She looked up to confirm that the skies had no rain clouds looming over. She wasn't able to think. Her mind was still fogged and she couldn't make sense of what was happening. She looked around to find people staring at her in shock. For a moment, time seemed to stop as no one was noticeably moving.

Finally, she looked to the ground and found herself in the middle of a circle, larger than her whole height, formed by a much darker tone of the road. It had been singed Ranma realized and it must've been her that caused it. She held her head as a wave of pain struck her again.

'I need to get home,' she thought.

She staggered forward but then found herself falling down. But before she crashed onto the ground, she felt someone catching her. She felt faint again and breathing became tougher. Everything else then slowly disappeared into darkness.

* * *

The day was growing late and it agitated Akane as Ranma was not yet home. She was beginning to worry and she was uncharacteristically not mad at him. She swore not to be. She wanted to learn to trust him and not assume him of negative things. Though, her wandering thoughts and quite ridiculous imaginations made it hard for her to keep cool. So she occupied herself with some television. Nevertheless, worry still plagued her mind.

'What's going on Ranma?' she thought, glancing at the wall clock again. 'It shouldn't be this long to get answers from them.'

Genma then came down the stairs and entered the living room.

"Ranma's not back yet?" he asked. Akane looked up at him and shook her head. He let out a short sigh. "I'm going over to my wife's house. Tell him that if he asks," he said.

"Oh, okay," Akane replied. Genma nodded and left through the compound. Akane threw her glance back at the clock and sighed.

'Where are you Ranma?'

* * *

Ranma came to and found himself lying down on a couch. It felt nice, so nice that he wanted to slip back into unconsciousness. His first thought then interrupted that desire – Akane.

'I gotta get home.'

He abruptly sat up but then fell back when he felt a dull pain in his head.

"Not so fast there," a familiar voice said.

"You…," Ranma said, looking at the man while he rested his head back on the arm of the couch. He looked around to see that the room was large and dimly lit. There were a few people walking about and he noticed a reception desk on the far side of the room.

"This is an inn?" he asked. The man just made a sound to affirm that. Ranma then ran his hand over his chest.

"You changed me?" he asked.

"Yes," the stranger – not so much now – said.

…

…

"Do you know what's happening to me?" Ranma asked bluntly. He glanced at the man for an answer. The man looked back at Ranma with a blank expression – rather creepy it was. Then he sighed and closed his eyes. He looked at Ranma again with now a more serious expression. Ranma waited intently for his response.

"You're dying," he answered. "And you don't have much time left."

Ranma sat up slowly – not feeling quite dizzy anymore – and studied the man to find a sign of humor or sarcasm but there wasn't any. To the man, Ranma's unexpectedly non-obvious reaction seemed strange to him.

"You're not kidding?" Ranma asked. The other man kept quiet but held his gaze. There was sympathy in his eyes and Ranma felt uncomfortable with that.

"Why?" Ranma said. The man sighed.

"I wish I knew too," he answered. "Your lifespan is shortening at an unthinkable rate and there's no sign of it slowing down. It's even accelerating."

"How do you know this?" Ranma frowned. The man chuckled.

"You don't trust me?" he said.

"Not a bit," Ranma shook his head and leaned back into his seat. "For all I know, you may want me to do something for you. You may be just some delusional guy claiming things."

"Delusional?" the man responded. He leaned forward. "Can a delusional man rent a room for a night's stay?" he asked. Ranma paused, giving some thought to that.

"Fine, but I still don't believe you," Ranma crossed his arms over his chest.

"Think whatever you like about me," he replied. "You on the other hand should really think of making the best out of the time you have left. Don't waste it."

"So, you're saying that this can't be stopped?" Ranma asked, raising his voice a little.

"I've been searching for years and I haven't found anything," the man replied. "What makes you think you could make a difference?" he asked.

"You're just not searching well enough," Ranma replied sternly. "Every problem has its solution. Every disease has its medicine. Every curse has its cure."

"You may be right, but how long will it take to find it, analyze it and process it?" the man responded. "You don't have time for that." He paused and then sighed. "There are people around you that care for you. Don't forget them."

Ranma sat in silence as he absorbed those words. Images of his family, Akane and others flew across his mind. True, there were matters needed to be taken care of, relationships needing to be fixed.

"If I came back with my head down, wouldn't that disappoint them?" Ranma said.

"It is only accepting fate, not giving up," the man replied.

"Accepting defeat is just the same as giving up isn't it?" Ranma said. He sighed when there was no response from the man and then stood up.

"What's your name anyway?" he asked.

"Tai…you can call me that," the man answered. "That is, if we meet again."

Ranma nodded and then walked out of the inn. He looked around to get his bearings and then decided on a route home. All the way he let his mind wander. He imagined his mother whom he still felt a little awkward with. Then, the fiancées – he was still indecisive as he had always been. Though, he had now begun to make a decision on that. His ties with the others would then definitely be severed. He didn't want to imagine the consequences of that.

"Crap!" Ranma gasped, instantly stopping in his tracks.

'I should've asked him about the possible connection to Jusenkyo,' he thought.

Nevertheless, Tai's claims of knowing much about him was enough to hold Jusenkyo in the picture. But he was still skeptical of the guy. How could you actually trust someone you barely knew? Ranma then shook his head - he didn't want to think about it right now. He just wanted to rest. Soon, the house came to view. He walked up to the front door and entered. Before he could announce his return Akane came to the front door. He could see the worry in her eyes which then dissipated – but not to anger though. Still, she looked to be angry with her arms folded across her chest.

"What took you so long?" she asked. Her voice didn't indicate any danger. So Ranma just came out with the truth.

"I met that guy again…the one who knew about Jusenkyo," he replied.

"Oh…," Akane said. Her posture was more relaxed now. "So you talked to him?"

Ranma nodded in response.

"Did you ask him about…," Akane trailed off when Ranma nodded.

"What did he say?" Akane asked.

Ranma gave out a long sigh and rubbed his eyes. He didn't know how to tell it to her. Anything he say about it might cause more worry to her. Even if he didn't believe Tai, Akane might and he didn't want to do that to her.

"Akane, I wanna lie down for a sec," Ranma said. "I'll tell you later 'kay," he smiled and then walked past. Akane watched as Ranma went up the stairs, most probably towards his room. Then – remembering something – she went up the stairs too.

"Ranma," she called out. "Your father went to your mom's house."

"Hm, why?" Ranma asked, looking back at her.

"I dunno, he didn't say," Akane said, shaking her head a little. Ranma nodded in response. He noticed that she had looked worried since he returned and pitied her. Already she sensed something grave coming.

"Hey, it's gonna be alright," Ranma assured, giving his best smile. "I'll be fine."

Akane was surprised but already her brighter nature took the place of her fear. She smiled back in response. Ranma then turned and walked into his room.

'_You don't have much time left.'_

Ranma sighed and closed the sliding door. His resolve didn't help to kick out those words. There were still many things to do and according to that guy, there wasn't time for all of it. It hurt his head to be thinking of this. He wanted a little rest and he could think of that later. Ranma rolled out his futon and by the time his head rested on his pillow, he was already half conscious. It didn't take long for him to drift off to sleep. Though, those words kept ringing in his ears.

'_You don't have much time left.'_

* * *

Alright, finished. I hope it was good. Not much to say here (haha). See ya guys in the next chapter where something big will happen which would shock our characters.


	5. P1: An Unusual Day

Sorry for the long wait but here's the continuation of The Curse of Jusenkyo.

**The Curse of Jusenkyo**

Part 1

An Unusual Day

The house felt much quieter than it would usually be. It had been dead for years since Ranma and his father left. Now with their return, that void was slowly disappearing. But right now, the air within the home was heavy. Earlier on, Genma had called and informed Nodoka that he would be coming. He did not specify why but he had sounded grim on the phone. It made her shiver to hear that sort of tone from her husband. She was curious to know what his reason to visit was.

So she had been sitting in the quiet living room, staring emptily at the blank screen of the television. Her right leg was getting tired after shaking it for so long. She could not help feel agitated about the unknown. All efforts of thinking about something else failed. Somehow her thoughts always came back to questions. Doing anything else to distract herself also proved to be vain. So she settled to just sit and wait.

A knock came from the door and immediately Nodoka shot up and answered it.

"Genma!" she said, relieved that he had arrived. She gave way for him to enter the house. "What did you want to talk with me about? Is something bad going on?" she asked, closing the door.

"Ranma asked me a strange question earlier today," Genma said, turning to her. "He asked whether I felt strange around water ... whether I felt attracted to it."

"Attracted to water? Does it have anything to do with the curse?" Nodoka asked. Genma paused in realization.

"Hm, never thought of that," he said. "Quite possible."

"Is there something wrong with it?" Nodoka asked.

"I don't know," Genma replied, shaking his head. "He does seem to be a little off lately but other than that he looks normal." He paused a few seconds and then said, "I think you should come and see him."

Whatever that Genma was trying to say, he could not explain even if Nodoka pushed him on. She could tell from the way he spoke with concern and confusion. And it did not seem like something stupid that he would probably cause. It was best that she asked Ranma himself about this. So Nodoka nodded in response.

"Maybe tomorrow. It's late now," she said. She looked at Genma hopefully and placed her hands on his chest. Genma was a little stunned at how Nodoka looked at the moment. It had been a while since he saw that expression on her.

"Stay here for the night," she said softly.

She sounded so much like back then; the day he decided to take Ranma away for training. Looking at her now he started questioning his decision back then. Was it necessary to be separated from her for so many years? It could have been just maybe a year or two. Nodoka would not have to suffer a decade-long void. And Ranma - to have lived without a mother for so long. What effect did that have on him? Maybe it was starting to show now. He knew that he was not good at making decisions but he did try to be.

"Yeah, okay," Genma nodded. At least small decisions like this were easy.

"Let me call to tell the others," he continued as he went to the phone.

* * *

Morning came and for some reason it was an unusual one. Already the sun had risen above the neighborhood but there was no one outside the house sparring. Nor was there anyone exercising. There were not even fragrances coming from the kitchen.

"My, it's so quiet," Kasumi said to herself as she came down the stairs. "Looks like there was no harm in waking up a little late," she said. She paused and then chuckled.

'Why am I talking to myself?' she thought.

She then walked into the kitchen to start preparing breakfast for everyone. Just as she did so, Ranma came down the stairs, yawning and stretching his arms.

"Wow, that was a good sleep," he said satisfyingly. He looked around the empty living room, noticing the difference in the air or rather the lack of something.

'Maybe it's because pops ain't here,' Ranma thought. Then he heard someone coming down after him.

"Morning Ranma," Akane greeted. Ranma looked behind at her.

"Hey, morning," Ranma smiled, getting out of her way.

"Hm, something feels different," Akane said as she came down the last step. She quickly scanned the house and nodded a little, affirming her senses.

"Ain't it?" Ranma responded, smiling a little. Akane looked at him as he glanced around, finding his response a bit weird. But then she smiled as well.

"Say, wanna spar?" Ranma suddenly asked, catching Akane off guard.

"Huh, f-for real?" Akane replied.

"Yeah, sure," Ranma shrugged. "Nothing better to do."

"Wow, okay," Akane said, getting excited. She was about to rush back up the stairs when Ranma suddenly said.

"Whoa hey wait, don't go and hurt yourself," Ranma held his hand up. He laughed a little when Akane's cheeks grew red.

"That's not funny," she said pouted. He found her reaction strange; out of character even. But he did not want to turn that into argument material so he just smiled and pushed her lightly.

"Go, get ready," Ranma said with a master's tone and then walked off towards the dojo. Akane stood still for a while before snapping out of her trance and rushed upstairs to get in gear.

'That was ... weird,' Ranma thought along the way to the dojo. He chuckled as he opened the door and entered. He paid his respects and then stood staring at the shrine. He began thinking about yesterday's events. What that man had said rattled his mind a little. It hinted him on the strong link between Jusenkyo and the strange occurrences despite what everyone else said. Still, he could not derive a conclusion based on that. He needed stronger evidence.

Just as his thoughts ended, Akane came in. Ranma stared, surprised at her gear. She was not wearing her usual fighting outfit. Instead she only wore loose pants and a white t-shirt. It was too casual for her. There really was something off about today.

"What?" Akane asked, noticing Ranma staring at her with his arms crossed.

"So the student decided to show up differently huh," Ranma said in amusement. Akane looked down at what she was wearing and laughed a bit.

"I dunno. I just feel different today," she said, looking back at him. Ranma chuckled in response.

"Alright, let's begin," he said. Akane nodded in response and took her stance.

"Your move," Ranma said.

Akane focused her senses, exhaled and charged in, delivering a punch that Ranma dodged easily. She threw in another punch which Ranma blocked. Akane continued sending hit after hit at Ranma all of which were either dodged or blocked. As Akane continued her attack, Ranma noticed that she was less furious with her hits, making them more precise actually. Her expression was calm. Her movements had the precision and fluidity she often lacked. It's as if she had improved over night.

"You're much better than usual," Ranma said, smiling a little. Then again, he rarely sparred with her so he did not really know how much she had improved.

"Thanks. Aren't you going to counter?" Akane said in between hits. Ranma smirked and just as Akane sent in the next hit, he grabbed hold of her arm and threw her over his head. Akane flipped in mid-air and landed perfectly on her feet.

"Your opponent is a weapon," he said, taking up a stance. Akane smiled and charged again. She drove in a fist which Ranma dodged by jumping far to the back. She then sent a flying sideways kick. Ranma moved to the left to dodge it. Akane landed and quickly turned to send a spinning kick. Ranma quickly ducked to avoid it.

"Don't hesitate," Akane smirked. Ranma smiled in response. For the first time, Ranma went on the offensive and gave a spinning kick. Akane raised her left hand and blocked it. She flinched at the force of the hit.

"Stand firm," Ranma said. He then jumped with his left leg and used it to kick Akane's gut. She took the full hit and slid back a few steps. Ranma looked on at Akane with a tinge of worry but then eased when he saw her smiling.

"Fight on," she said, getting her stance back.

"Until one wins," Ranma continued, getting into stance.

The two resumed their spar, not noticing Soun peeking on them. He smiled, seeing that the two were reconciling. The failed wedding opened his eyes to leave them on their own. Eventually they would decide what was best for them. They were grown people, no longer small children. Soun wished that he could have realized that earlier. With the second chance given now, he wanted to do things right and that was to believe in them. Quietly, he left the dojo to not disturb the two, not anymore.

Ranma and Akane now stood facing each other in their stances. Both were panting but were feeling satisfied. Akane then eased out and bowed at Ranma and he returned it. Just as he stood upright again, Akane ran up and hugged him. He stood still, completely taken by surprise. He did not dare say or do anything. It was one of those rare moments when they were the closest; when they were really at peace with each other. His breathing slowed as he sunk into the moment. Soon, they broke away.

"Thank you," Akane said. Ranma noticed her face glowed red. He was still in a daze as Akane turned and walked away. Ranma watched as she exited the dojo and a smile came on his face.

'She's a lot calmer today ... beautiful too,' he thought as he followed her back to the house.

"Good morning sis," Akane greeted upon coming into the kitchen.

"Good morning Akane," Kasumi responded as she kept on with her work while Akane went to the refrigerator. "How was your sparring?" she asked.

"Huh, how'd you know?" Akane asked as she poured herself a drink.

"Come on, it's Kasumi," Ranma said as he came in. He grabbed another glass and took his own drink. The two paused when Kasumi abruptly stopped her work.

"Are you implying something Ranma?" Kasumi asked in a restrained voice. Akane and Ranma froze, a little crept out at her tone. Akane gave Ranma a look that said "Look at what you did!"

"Uh, I didn't, umm ... I wasn't –," Ranma fumbled.

"Oh, I was just playing with you Ranma," Kasumi cut him off, turning around to face them. Despite her reassuring smile, the two were still tensed. They laughed nervously, unsure of whether Kasumi had really been joking. Just then the phone rang, saving them from the awkward situation.

"I'll get it," Akane volunteered and went out to the phone. Ranma followed her.

"Why are you –,"

"Just curious," Ranma said simply. Akane rolled her eyes and then answered the phone.

"Hello?" she said.

"Oh, Shiori ... Wait, slow down. What is it? ... Something? What does it look like?"

Ranma went closer to try and listen to the conversation. Akane frowned at Ranma, indicating him to stay back.

"What?" Ranma whispered. Akane did not respond but just turned away.

"Okay, did you call the police?" Akane asked Shiori. She paused for a reply. "Okay, don't do anything just yet. We'll come by and see what's going on. See you." She then placed the phone back to its place.

"We?" Ranma said.

"Shiori said something had washed out on the beach," Akane said, ignoring Ranma's remark.

"So?" he said dismissively.

"It was big and had tentacles and wings," Akane continued. Ranma frowned but then his eyes widened.

"Taro," he whispered.

"You think so?" Akane asked.

"What else looks like that? We gotta go now!" he said and ran off. Akane, surprised at the suddenness, stumbled as she ran after Ranma.

"Would you slow down?" she called out to Ranma as she tried catching up to him.

"Can't!" Ranma simply replied.

"Wait a minute! We haven't bathed yet!" Akane said in realization.

"It's at the beach!" Ranma replied.

"I can't swim!" Akane yelled back.

"Too bad then!" Ranma said.

Minutes later, the coastline came to view.

"There, I see –," Ranma did not finish his sentence as Akane knocked him on the head. He caught himself before he fell to the ground.

"What was that for?" Ranma said as he recovered.

"You deserved it," Akane indifferently said, nursing her hand. Ranma glared at her but did not further the argument.

"Come on," he said.

The two ran towards the large body to investigate. Nobody was around. That was good. There was no need for extra attention. However, with how fast news spread around Nerima, it was very unlikely that no one else would find out. So they needed to be quick before things became more complicated.

"It's really Taro!" Ranma said, charging towards the body. He slammed into the side of the monster. "Help me out here!" he said, trying to push it. Akane then came up beside him and pushed as hard as she could.

"He's not budging," Akane strained but kept on pushing.

"Ah damn, he's too heavy," Ranma said. Just then, Akane's friend ran up to them.

"Hey guys!" she called out. She stopped at a distance from them, not wanting to get near the beast. "Are you sure you should be touching it?" Shiori asked, sounding disgusted.

"You got any hot water on you?" Ranma asked suddenly, looking at her.

"Uhh, no?" Shiori replied.

"Ranma!" Akane called out. Ranma averted his attention back to Taro, whose cursed form was actually starting to disintegrate.

"Wha – " Shiori gaped.

The monster body was turning into tiny ash-like bits that flew around and disappeared into thin air. Ranma and Akane backed away as this was happening. Soon, the real form of the person was revealed. Ranma immediately went to his knees and shook Taro's lifeless body.

"Dude! Wake up!" he said.

"Is he ..." Shiori said worriedly. Ranma then placed his ear to the unconscious boy's chest, trying to listen for a heartbeat.

"He can't be ..." Ranma said but then he suddenly yelped, one that sounded like he was in pain. His body started shaking. He crawled away from Taro's body but then dropped flat on the sand.

"Ranma!" Akane yelled, rushing over to his side.

"No! Don't ... come close!" Ranma warned as he groaned. Akane was confused and scared for Ranma but she complied and distanced herself from him. She then began to feel the air getting hot. She realized that the source was Ranma. Suddenly, Ranma started to scream and the air continued becoming hotter. Then there was blinding light coming from Ranma, forcing Akane and Shiori to cover their eyes. Akane heard an explosion and she felt the rush of energy around her, throwing her off her feet.

The explosion was only a second but Akane could feel the burn on her skin. It did not look so serious but both her arms were burnt and her t-shirt was torn a bit at the stomach area. Akane got back up and ran over to Ranma who was half conscious.

"Ranma, stay awake," she pleaded, turning Ranma over on his back. Ranma's eyes were half-lidded and his body was limp. He managed to move his head though and looked at Akane.

"Akane, I feel weak," Ranma said as he slowly dipped into unconsciousness. All he could hear then were muffled yells from Akane before he completely passed out.

* * *

Lunch in the Saotome home had just ended and Genma was helping Nodoka out in washing the dishes. Normally one could never see such a thing but Nodoka managed to convince him somehow to help her. Genma did not put on much effort on retaliation either. There were other things to be more concerned about than housework.

"So when do we leave?" Genma asked.

"As soon as we're done," Nodoka replied.

"It's pretty hot outside though," Genma pointed out.

"That's not important," Nodoka said. Seeing her resolve, Genma just nodded. Just then, the phone rang. Nodoka left the dishes and went to pick it up.

"Hello?" she said into the phone. "Oh, Kasumi what – What? ... Okay, okay, I'll be on my way ... Yes, see you there. Thank you." Nodoka held the phone in her shaking hands.

"Who was that?" Genma came out and asked. He frowned when he saw his wife trembling.

"Kasumi," Nodoka answered, placing the phone back to its rest. "She said that Ranma's in the hospital," she continued.

"Was it a fight?" Genma asked. "If it was then he wouldn't have trouble recovering."

"I don't think it's that," Nodoka shook her head. "She said Ranma sort of exploded."

"Exploded?" Genma repeated. Nodoka nodded to affirm that. He paused, trying to make sense of what his wife had said.

"Which hospital was it?" he asked.

* * *

"_Ranma."_

He heard the voice calling him. It felt familiar but it was very soft and distant.

"_Ranma."_

And added that everything was dark, it was tough to determine from which direction it came from.

"_Ranma."_

It was getting louder now or rather the voice was closer to him. He could see light breaking out in the darkness and suddenly he found himself lying down in a room.

"Ranma," Akane smiled, relieved to see him awake. He looked at her with blank eyes. His mind was still dull and nothing was registering into it. He averted his gaze from her and then looked around the room. After taking in all the details, he knew he was in a hospital.

"How'd I get here?" he asked weakly.

"Ambulance," Akane answered simply. "How are you feeling?" she asked, leaning in closer to him. Ranma did not answer that question but asked,

"How long was I out?"

Akane looked at her watch.

"It's almost 1 o'clock now," she answered. "You were out for quite a while."

Ranma then slowly raised himself and sat upright. He frowned suddenly, surprising Akane.

"Okay, you were out pretty –,"

"Your arms," Ranma suddenly said. "And your clothes."

"Huh?" Akane looked at her bandaged arms. "Oh, that's ... it was ..." Akane then folded her arms as if trying to hide them.

"Was it me?" Ranma asked solemnly. His eyes met hers and Akane could see the regret mixed with anger in Ranma's. Akane did not want to lie; there was no point to it. Ranma was probably well aware about the fact so she just kept quiet.

"It ... It's really not so bad," Akane said after a while.

"I'm sorry Akane," Ranma said, lowering his gaze. It was a surprise for Akane to hear him apologize up front. As far as she could remember, she had never heard him say that to her. It did not make her feel better though. In fact, she felt more sorry for him.

"Ranma, it's okay. I understand," Akane assured, leaning in closer and holding his hand to emphasize that. The room fell silent again.

"Ranma, what happened back there?" she asked. Ranma did not answer but then his eyes widened.

"What happened to Taro?" Ranma asked, looking at Akane. Akane kept quiet but Ranma understood what that meant. She then lowered her gaze and squeezed Ranma's hand.

"What's going on Ranma?" Akane asked, her voice shaky. She sounded like she was on the verge of bursting into tears.

"Akane ..."

"Oh, you're awake," a nurse came in and said. Akane tore away her attention from Ranma and looked at the nurse.

"Will he be okay?" she asked.

"Well, so far he seems normal," the nurse replied. "But we haven't figured out why he passed out so we may need to run some more tests."

"Okay," Akane nodded.

"I'll leave first. Later the doctor will come by," the nurse continued. Akane nodded again in acknowledgement and the nurse left. She then looked back at Ranma, finding him to be staring off blankly.

"Ranma?" Akane called out softly. She felt Ranma's hand squeezing hers.

"It's all coming together now. I think I have an idea of what'll happen," he said. Akane leaned in closer.

"What is it?" she asked.

"Ranma?" Kasumi peeked in.

"Kasumi!" Akane said, turning her attention to her sister. Kasumi walked in, followed closely by the rst of the family. Akane ran up to Kasumi and hugged her.

"Well you're still in one piece Ranma," Nabiki smiled.

"Glad to see you too," Ranma responded flatly. Everyone started to fill the room, taking up places as if they had been designated. The whole family was there, including Ranma's parents.

"Oh my boy! I'm so glad that you're okay! We were told that you blew up! But looks like you're alright after all!" Soun Tendo rushed forward and knelt at Ranma's side with tears streaming like rivers.

"Blew up?" Ranma said, looking at Akane.

"I may have exaggerated a little," she said, grinning guiltily. Ranma shook his head in disbelief but was amused. He was glad they came. The tension was lifted with the family's arrival. Everything felt better now. Was this one of the things he was supposed to cherish? Family? He never had a proper one in years and staying at the Tendo home only made him feel like a guest. But looking at them now, they were the ones he could lean on. He always felt better with them around, even if some were a pain in the rear.

"Excuse me, are you the family?" the doctor came in.

"Yes," Genma turned and answered. Nodoka then went up to him and asked,

"Is anything wrong with him?"

"For now we don't see anything wrong but we'd still like to do more tests. That is, with your consent," the doctor replied. Nodoka looked at her husband who had an uneasy expression. She knew what it meant and so gave him an intimidating look. Genma's expression tightened but then he reluctantly nodded.

"Alright," Nodoka said, looking back at the doctor.

"Okay, come let's step outside. You'll need to fill up the consent form," the doctor said as he led them out. Once they were out, Kasumi went to the bed.

"So how're you feeling Ranma?" Kasumi asked, sitting on the bed.

"I'm alright now," he answered.

"Why don't you explain to us what's going on?" Nabiki said. Ranma frowned and then looked away. Everyone had thought that Nabiki angered him but then he spoke.

"I think I'm –,"

"Akane?" Ukyo peeked in.

"Hey Ukyo," Akane answered the girl. She got up and walked over to Ukyo. The two girls hugged each other.

"I came as fast as I could," she said. They broke off but stood close to each other. "What's happening?" she asked.

"I don't know. We were at the beach and Ranma's energy just went overload and exploded," Akane said, lowering her gaze.

"At the beach?" Ukyo said.

"Taro ... we found him there," Akane's voice was trembling. "He ... He wasn't breathing. The paramedics ... they ... he's ..." Ukyo's eyes widened in realization.

"I get it, Akane," she said hurriedly, holding Akane's trembling shoulders.

"I'm worried about Ranma now," Akane said. "I'm afraid that he'd –,"

"Akane," Ranma called out. She turned and looked at him. When he should be the one most shaken, he was actually smiling and appearing calm about this.

"We'll find a way to get through this," he said, smiling assuredly. He radiated confidence and that seemed to spread out to everyone. Akane was feeling much better at seeing him smile. It was a smile that said she could trust him.

"Yeah, okay," Akane nodded. Ukyo looked at the two connecting eyes and smiled sadly.

"I'll help you guys too," she added. Akane looked at Ukyo in surprise but then smiled.

* * *

There you go, Chapter 4. I hope that within this week I'll be able to get Chapter 5 up as well. Though, I can't promise anything. So stay tuned everyone. Thanks for reading until here and tell me how's it like for you so far?


	6. P1: Things Change

Hey everyone! Been a while huh. Wow, things have been really busy at college. I was really taking a risk when I was trying to finish this. Putting aside my work for a while but I wanted to get this out. Sorry for the long wait but here it is. I hope y'all would enjoy.

**The Curse of Jusenkyo**

Part 1

Things Change

The first day of the week unfortunately felt much longer than it needed to be. Class hours were still the same but for some reason the clock hands seemed to slow down. A second felt like a minute. A minute crawled like an hour. If time was really warped that way, who knew how long 6 or 7 hours of school would feel like.

But really, Akane was just over-thinking things. She had been distant since the day began. Even fending off Kuno took longer than usual. She was even called a few times in class for dazing away. All day she kept on thinking about what Ranma was going through.

She still did not know exactly what was happening. The weekend assignments, added with other home works had her tied up the day before, preventing her from visiting Ranma. Today she set herself to go and see him before reaching home.

As she passed the Nekohanten, she remembered Ranma meeting them. She wondered what their conversation resulted in. Though, she was hesitant on asking them about it. After all, the restaurant to her was hostile area. But by now, news of Ranma's hospitalization should have reached them and that might be a good enough reason to have a temporary truce.

Deciding to satisfy her curiosity, Akane walked into the restaurant. It was easy enough to spot Shampoo and Mousse who were the only ones standing among a few occupied tables. Most of them were teens in school uniforms, probably just finished their classes and decided to hang out here for a while. Shampoo then turned to look at her direction. A frown came upon her face when she noticed Akane.

"What you want?" she asked.

"I didn't come here to argue or anything," Akane quickly said, holding up her hands in an effort to make peace. "I just want to ask something."

Shampoo just kept quiet and went back to serving the customers. Akane silently fumed at the other girl's cold treatment. She could flare out right there and then but decided not to. Creating a scene here would mean no information on Ranma.

"Is there something you need Akane?" Mousse came up to her.

That put her at ease. At least Mousse had the decency to welcome her.

"Ranma came here the other day right? I want to know what you guys talked about," Akane said. Mousse straightened up and inhaled cautiously.

"I assure you that nothing happened between him and Shampoo," Mousse replied.

"I know," Akane nodded. Mousse's eyebrow flicked, surprised that she was not assuming anything but that eased him. He did not want to create a ruckus in the place.

"Well, not much resulted from the discussion actually, but …," Mousse paused and looked back. It seemed that there was still some work needed to be done.

"Hold on, I'll get back to you," he said, looking back at Akane. "In the meantime, you want anything?" he offered.

"Uh, maybe just some iced tea," Akane said.

"Alright," Mousse nodded.

"Thanks," Akane smiled and then went to sit while Mousse went back to tending other customers. She kept herself occupied with looking around at the other patrons. There was a group of boys – four of them – having a lively conversation, laughing and slapping one another on their backs. Another group of two boys and two girls was quieter even though they sat just beside the louder one. It was a different conversation all together Akane figured. She continued looking around and she saw two couples enjoying their time with each other. Occasionally they would laugh but kept it down to a much more decent level. Besides the teens, there were two adults – not together though – enjoying their meals. One of them was with his notebook, probably doing some editing on some task. The other seemed to just want to loosen up after a day's work.

And just like them, Akane was occupied with her own matter. Well, not really hers but Ranma's problems always managed to drag everyone else in it. As always, he tried hard to not let that happen like the others. But this was not like the past troubles. She could sense it.

"Here you go," Mousse said, handing her drink over.

"Thanks," Akane smiled and took a sip of her iced tea. Mousse pulled up a chair and sat across from her.

"No more work?" she asked.

"For now yeah," Mousse replied. Akane nodded.

There was a pause but before it dragged on Mousse spoke up.

"Not that I'm concerned or anything, but what's happening to Ranma?" he asked. Akane chuckled.

"Your words are contradictory," she said. Mousse's eyes narrowed. Akane laughed lightly but then her expression grew somber.

"Honestly, I still don't understand what's going on," she began. "Ranma himself doesn't even understand it. Strange things are happening."

"Isn't that usual?" Mousse commented. Akane smiled at that. She was grateful that he was trying to alleviate the tension in the atmosphere although it was a rather inappropriate situation.

"Yeah but this one seems to be on a whole other scale," Akane continued. She paused and inhaled deeply. "Taro's death was like a warning call. I don't know why but it sent chills down my spine and suddenly I had a thought that maybe there's a connection between Ranma and Taro."

"That could be possible."

The two looked to the side at the stunted old woman on her staff.

"Cologne," Akane noted.

"Ranma had also suspected that whatever's going on with him had something to do with Jusenkyo. I don't know how far is his understanding of this but surely it's more than what we currently know. We need him to tell us," the old woman continued. "And I'm not sure if you noticed Akane but his chi is going haywire, barely stable."

"That would explain the sudden burst of energy," Akane said, gaining an affirmative nod from Cologne. "Why is this happening?"

"I don't have a clue," Cologne replied, shaking her head. "I need to see him and talk to him more about it."

"Well, I'm actually going to visit him later," Akane said. "If you want to come …"

"That'd be good. The sooner we figure this out the better," Cologne replied. Akane nodded in agreement.

"I follow as well," Shampoo piped in. Akane looked up at Shampoo who upon locking eyes with her had a distasteful expression.

"Uh, then I'll come along as well," Mousse said.

"Someone has to take care of the place," Cologne turned to look at Mousse. "But relying on you is as risky as closing early," she continued. Mousse glared at the old woman for her comment.

"Shampoo, I think it's best that you stay here with him," Cologne said, pointing to Mousse.

"B-But …"

"You can visit him tomorrow Shampoo," the elder added.

"I-I could accompany you tomorrow if you want," Akane offered. Shampoo looked at Akane, a little surprised. She did not give a response but just quietly walked away.

"Come, let's go," Cologne said, hopping off. Akane got up, leaving her unfinished tea. She paused in her steps and glanced back at Shampoo who was cleaning a nearby table. She held her gaze for a while and then walked out of the restaurant.

* * *

He was alone again in the room. It had been three days now in the hospital. The loneliness was getting to him. No one else had been to see him since he had first passed out. So, often he would occupy himself with a little bit of exercising. He did not want to accidentally mess up the things in the room so he only did some stretches and some typical fitness routines. But between the meals they sent him and the workouts, he thought of his predicament.

Currently Ranma was staring out the window as he assessed all the clues he had. Firstly, Taro had the same problem as he for a month. His father, Shampoo and Mousse did not report the same thing happening to them. This had ruled out the possibility of a connection between 'abnormal water-attraction' as he called it, with Jusenkyo. Then he met the 'expert' of Jusenkyo, telling him that he would die soon. After Taro's death, he gave that a serious thought. He was unsure now whether this had something to do with Jusenkyo or not. But he felt that there was a connection between him and Taro. And his brief encounters with Tai also accentuate that possible relation.

Tai had said that 'it was too soon' when they first bumped into each other. Ranma had thought long about it and came up with the possibility that his deterioration was happening too fast; faster than it was supposed to be. If his was abnormal then there are normal cases as well which meant that this experience happened all the time. But then, to whom was it happening? And did it really have anything to do with Jusenkyo? He could only think that it did.

If that were true then it seemed that there was something else about Jusenkyo that none of them were aware of. The curse could actually be more than just shifting between forms. There was a much darker side to it. If this was true – which Ranma thought very likely – there would not be an easy escape from this. But it was not him to give up so easily. He knew that there was a way to solve this. He would need to investigate Jusenkyo itself to find out.

"Ranma?" came Akane's voice from the door. Ranma turned around and saw her coming in with Cologne. He did not give attention to the shriveled woman but at the younger girl. Impulsively he smiled, glad that she was here.

"Hey," he said. Akane smiled back in response, glad to see that he was on his feet again. Even so, she still asked,

"How are you feeling?"

"I'm good," he replied. "Come on in," he said, walking over to them. Akane and Cologne went to sit on the couch while Ranma pulled up a chair and sat facing them.

"So, Cologne, did you find out anything?" Ranma asked immediately.

"Nothing so far. There's no more information other than about the curse," she replied.

"Maybe we need to pay Jusenkyo a visit," Ranma said.

"Going back there?" Akane asked.

"I strongly feel that whatever's going on has a strong relation to Jusenkyo. But I still can't confirm that so I'll need to go there and find out," he said.

"I agree," Cologne said. She paused a while and then asked, "What do you understand of it so far Ranma?"

Ranma was a little surprised by her calling him by his name but he did not make anything of that.

"Umm, is it okay if we discuss this another time?" Ranma said. Akane tensed up and folded her arms over her chest. Cologne looked back and forth between the two.

"And why is that?" she asked. Ranma looked apologetically at her.

"I …," but before he could continue, Akane cut him off.

"Too late Ranma, I'm already dragged into this," Akane said firmly. "And soon it'll involve everyone else anyway."

Ranma's expression was of frustration but then he sighed.

"Alright," he relented. Akane eased up and lowered her arms, silently happy that for once she could have an actual part in helping Ranma.

He began, "What I've got so far is that there could be some relation between my condition and Taro's death. He had said that he had been experiencing the same things I did for quite some time. And this guy I met who seemed to know stuff about Jusenkyo said that my condition was progressing too fast. So I concluded that this thing could actually be something normal. But to who, that's another question. But I have a feeling that it's happening to Jusenkyo victims."

"What makes you think that it has something to do with Jusenkyo?" Akane asked.

Ranma continued, "For one, whatever's going on, water is involved which all of Jusenkyo victims have in common. And that guy, he seemed to be very well informed of these happenings, as if he had experienced it first hand and had some sort of power to detect this. I don't quite trust him but I can't rule him out of this."

Ranma paused for a while.

"If there really was a relation with Jusenkyo, then everyone else, Shampoo, Mousse …" he caught himself, remembering that Akane was there. "… Pops; they may all be in danger."

"But like you said, you're not very sure of it right," Akane said, leaning in a bit.

"Yeah," he nodded. "Though I wonder; why is my situation rather exceptional?"

"Have you noticed that your chi has been abnormal lately?" Cologne asked. Ranma shook his head.

"But I would expect it, with what's happening and all," he said.

"And also do you realize you have an excess of magical elements mixed up with your chi. Mutated magical elements," Cologne added. Ranma and Akane frowned at that.

"Excess mutated magic?" Akane repeated.

"What is it?" Ranma asked.

"I'm not sure. It's much harder to analyze compared to chi," Cologne said. "I have some references on how to test each magical element. So we're going to have to examine and observe you for a while Ranma."

"Great, happy to be your test subject," Ranma said sarcastically.

"It can't be helped. We need to find out what's wrong with you," Cologne said.

"Yeah, I get it," Ranma replied.

Just then, the nurse came in with a trolley carrying a tray of food. All three turned their heads and looked at the nurse who just smiled at the visitors.

"Mr. Saotome's dinner," she simply said.

"Oh right, thanks," Ranma said excitedly, barely keeping his eagerness in check. Akane noticed and smiled. As the nurse came up to Ranma, Akane got off the couch followed by Cologne hopping away with her staff. Ranma also stood up.

"Uhh, is it possible for him to be discharged early?" Akane asked the nurse.

"Well, if he's feeling all right I guess we can do that," the nurse replied as she placed the tray on the table attached to the bed. "His test results aren't done yet though but we can inform you later on," she continued. Ranma looked on at Akane with a questioning gaze and then looked at the nurse.

"I'm feeling okay," he answered, nodding a little.

"If you're alright then I guess it is fine. I'll need to tell the doctor first though," the nurse said.

"Okay," Ranma nodded. The nurse nodded back and walked out of the room with the trolley.

"I'll be going now," Cologne said. "I'll get back to you if there's anything else I find," she said as she too exited the room. Now the two were alone.

Ranma noticed Akane smiling at him.

"What?" he asked. Akane shook her head but was still smiling.

"You looked so mature just now," she teased, giggling a little.

"Making fun of me now?" Ranma replied in fake anger. Akane just laughed in response. Ranma smiled back and went to sit on the couch. Akane sat beside him.

"I had too much free time to think," Ranma said.

"About what's going on?" Akane asked, looking at him. Ranma nodded.

"And also other things," Ranma replied.

"Like?" Akane pressed on.

"Well … us," Ranma answered in a shy voice. Akane was stunned by his response.

"Oh …" was all she could say. She stopped herself from overthinking, knowing that it would ruin the savory moment.

"Things have changed between us," Ranma went on. He laughed a little and then continued "You're much less violent now than before." Ranma did not flinch because he knew she would not react that way anymore. And he was not wrong. Instead, Akane smiled at the praise.

"What, you miss the old, violent me?" she joked.

"A little," Ranma laughed. "But I like this you much more." Akane just smiled to that.

"Cuter, in fact," Ranma muttered.

"What?" Akane said.

"Nah, nothing," Ranma held up his hands. Akane frowned a bit but let it slide.

"And you've changed too," Akane said. "Suddenly looking matured and all," she mocked.

"So, all this time I wasn't?" Ranma asked, sounding as if he was offended.

"Hmm, no, not really," Akane replied, shaking her head.

"I see," Ranma said in a sort of angry tone.

But then the two broke out into laughter. When the giggles died down, they remained quiet for a while. The two were sitting close to one another but their gazes did not meet. It may seem like an awkward situation but secretly both of them were enjoying each other's company even without words to link them. Though the silence did agitate them both and they were trying to come up with something to say.

"I wonder what'll happen to us," Ranma said.

"I think you guys would find a way to solve all this," Akane said. Ranma was quiet for a while.

"I-I meant 'us'," Ranma said, looking at her. Akane could feel her face heating up as she stared at him, frozen.

"I … Uh …," Akane tried, but she could not say anything. Her mind had gone blank the moment Ranma cleared up what he said. Ranma did her a favor and continued on.

"I guess we'll figure that one out too," he said with a small smile in an effort to assure her. He reached over for her hands and held it in his in a soft, comforting grip. Akane jumped a bit but as her hands rested themselves in Ranma's warm palms, she sank into a calmed state.

"Yeah," she said.

They sat like that for a while, holding hands like they were supporting each other. Neither wanted to part nor tried anything further. Just being like this was nice enough.

"Is it okay if I stayed here for the night?" Akane asked.

"Yeah, sure. It's pretty lonely here," Ranma smiled. Akane giggled in pity at him. "I'd love the company."

Their hands parted and Ranma got up, walking over to his dinner tray. He paused when Akane squeaked right after hearing a low growl coming from her. He looked back and saw her wrapping her arms around her stomach. Ranma laughed at that while Akane shrunk as her face grew red again.

"You wanna share dinner?" Ranma offered. Akane was still feeling embarrassed but was aware enough to give a witty reply.

"What's this? The self-centered Ranma Saotome is offering a lady dinner? My, what a gentleman," she mocked.

"I'm just trying to be nice here," Ranma said, a little offended at that remark. Akane just laughed at his reaction.

"I'll just go get my own food, thanks," Akane smiled and then got up. "The café should still be open right?" she asked.

"I guess yeah," Ranma said as he went to sit on his bed.

"Okay, I'll be back," Akane said.

She returned later with her dinner – something too simple to be called one – and ate along with Ranma. What surprised her was that he had waited for her to return. His reason for that was,

"You know, in case you wanted to share," he said. He kept on eating slowly and eyeing Akane as she eventually finished her light dinner. Ranma smirked when he saw she did not seem satisfied with it.

"Hey, come on over here," Ranma said, pointing to his food. Akane hesitated but then went over to the bed. Ranma inched away a little to let her sit.

"Told you it wouldn't be enough," he teased.

"Shut it," Akane said as she ate whatever was left of Ranma's food. Ranma laughed a little and lied down on the bed. Akane continued to eat until it was all finished. She then looked behind at Ranma who was staring intently at the ceiling. He looked to be deep in thought. She wondered what was on his mind but decided to just let it pass. She figured he wanted to be left alone to his musings right now. So she just leaned back a little on her straightened arms that supported her body and delved into her own thoughts.

Not long after, the silence was too much. Akane was swinging her legs to keep herself somewhat entertained. She could feel the bed rock a little in unison to her swings. She was expecting Ranma to say something out of annoyance but he did not. Akane looked back at Ranma. He was still staring at the ceiling. It was creepy as it almost looked like he was frozen.

"Are you okay?" Akane asked softly. She was beginning to worry when he did not answer her. She was about to move in closer and reach for him when he spoke,

"Akane, whatever happens to me … don't let it get to you."

Akane did not quite understand what that meant. And she felt she did not want to. Instead she just nodded. She then got off the bed.

"Where're you going?" Ranma asked, propping himself up on his arms.

"I'm just gonna go sit over there," she said, pointing at the couch.

"Hm, I'd thought you'd wanna spend more time being close to me," Ranma teased.

"Oh please," Akane replied, rolling her eyes.

"You won't get a good angle at the TV from there," Ranma said and switched on the TV. Akane folded her arms over her chest and glared back and forth between Ranma and the TV.

"Come on; let's just be friends for the night," Ranma said as he sat up properly and moved closer to the side, leaving room for Akane to climb into. Akane continued to glare at Ranma but then it softened and she sighed, giving into him.

"Fine," she said, rolling her eyes. Akane got back on the bed and sat beside Ranma, leaving a little gap between them. "What's on anyway?" Akane asked.

"No idea," Ranma said as he jumped between channels. After surfing through all the channels available, he handed the remote over to Akane who went on the same cycle as well. Finally she just stopped at one channel showing some drama. Neither of them was actually focusing at it but they just went along blankly with the story. Occasionally they would make some sort of remark about the actors, the situation and sometimes would laugh at the comedic acts.

A few hours later, only the TV was making sounds. Akane had already fallen asleep and was leaning on Ranma's shoulder. Ranma on the other hand was still awake. He did not find anything on to be entertaining anymore so he just switched the TV off. He was still far from tired. All he could do was just staring blankly at the wall. Akane stirred and that brought his attention. He looked down at her. Still sleeping but then he heard her murmur his name. He reached over for her hand. She settled back down and a small smile appeared. Ranma could not help smiling himself.

* * *

That's all for this chapter. Hopefully I could get the next chapter up within this year (haha, yeah..can't talk about weeks now). Till then, see ya guys.

So what'd y'all think? Click on that link below.


	7. P1: The Night It Rained

It's finally here and done within this year itself (woohoo!). It was rather fun and challenging to write up this chapter because this is the last chapter to the first part of The Curse of Jusenkyo. So it ended up being close to 10,000 words; the most I've reached in a single chapter (achievement unlocked!). Some may need to read this story again from the beginning since it has been some time since the last update. I really apologize for the long wait.

But here it is. A very important chapter in this story. You'll know why when you read it.

P.S. I had first thought of rewriting the entire first part (the chapters before this one) but dismissed the idea since it seemed good enough and I wouldn't want to put you guys through roughly the same thing twice.

* * *

**The Curse of Jusenkyo**

Part 1

The Night It Rained

It was noon when they allowed Ranma to go, saying that they would call him when they had a picture of what was going on. He didn't understand why they needed so much time but he didn't question them. They knew what they were doing and were putting their best effort in it Ranma assumed.

Something in him though said that they were never going to really determine his condition. Not even those who investigated on Taro could find out the real reason behind his death. Ranma knew it wasn't simply drowning. There was something else at work there and it wasn't going to be easy to determine what. It wasn't something normal doctors could handle. Though, he did give credit to them for trying their best.

Now Akane and Ranma were walking back home. The two had woken up quite late. Akane had been fussing about being late for school. Ranma good humoredly explained to her that it was okay to be late once in a while. Heck, try skipping class for one day he said. What surprised him was that Akane agreed to that. Even she surprised herself.

"I'm sure they'd be asking a lot of stuff once we reach home," Ranma said, half moaning.

"What do you expect? This is something unnatural, even for you," Akane replied.

"Implying something here?" Ranma glared at Akane.

"Well it's true," she defended herself, though visibly retaining a laugh. Ranma didn't respond right away.

"I really wish for everything to be normal, even just for a day," he said, all of a sudden with a different tone. Akane could not help but smile. A sad one though. It was rare to see this side of him especially if it was around her. But with recent events happening, she was glad that she could see a part of Ranma she wished he had shown upfront long ago.

"But we all know that it's pretty impossible," he said, laughing a little.

Akane shrugged. "Who knows? Maybe this could be the last weird thing," she said. Ranma just smiled; a small one that hinted … insecurity?

It hurt her deeply inside to see Ranma like this. She had given thought on what Ranma had explained to her and Cologne the day before and it was starting to worry her. His assumptions that there was a connection between him and Taro almost threw her off. It took every ounce of strength she had to control herself. She even avoided talking about it later that day.

_Akane, whatever happens to me … don't let it get to you_.

It was in fact starting to get to her. Her thoughts were becoming much darker, considering the possibility of an end similar to Taro's. Akane squeezed her eyes tight as she tried suppressing those thoughts. Her hands were trembling and her eyes stung. Even walking beside Ranma was hard for her.

Akane opened her eyes and looked over at Ranma. He hadn't notice her suddenly acting strangely. She hoped he didn't. She wanted to be strong for him no matter what happens. She had after all silently promised that.

… _whatever happens to me … don't let it get to you_.

* * *

Ryoga's steps were heavy and his body felt like it was about to fall apart. His rations had run out about a week ago. The week before that, his food supply had suddenly disappeared – half of them he suspected were stolen by wandering animals. He had been uncharacteristically careless at his last camp stop. So he had to hunt small animals for a while but he didn't want that to go on forever. He needed more nutrition if he wanted to keep going. It was also about time he went to some town to stock up and maybe rest for a while.

Along his journey though he kept thinking of what was it that really drove him to do all this - travelling around on foot with a backpack nearly as heavy as he is with no real direction. Not that he could ever get the direction right. To his surprise he found that Ranma was no longer the reason why he travelled. The usual fire that burned inside him was slowly dwindling. In fact, he did not feel that there was even a need for a reason. He had to admit, it was enjoyable to be walking around aimlessly. It was like a carefree life. No actual attachments. Once he got past his depressive thoughts of course.

'But wait,' he thought.

Suddenly he was thinking of Akane. He had not seen her since the disastrous wedding. He was missing her greatly. An image of her then popped into his mind. He pictured her smiling at him, leaning herself onto him with his arms around her. If anyone were around at that moment to see him grinning widely for no apparent reason, they would have coaxed him to look for help.

Her image was then suddenly replaced by that of Akari's. Ryoga's grin became smaller until it turned into a frown. He clutched his head and groaned in frustration. Suddenly he lashed out and blasted a punch through a nearby tree, making it fall to the side. The wolf stalking him gawked and fled.

After leaving Nerima, Ryoga had made it to Akari's place and stayed there a few days. During his stay, his head was spinning as he tried to sort it all out. Who did he want? Akane or Akari.

'Man, I'm turning into Kuno,' he thought.

He sighed in defeat, finding himself in another dizzying mental run. His paces became slower and suddenly his backpack felt much heavier. He trudged his way towards a town he could see from afar, not realizing though that it was the very place where pretty much where all his frustrations started.

* * *

The members of the Tendo home were busy going about their business. Soun was with Genma at their never ending game. Nodoka who decided to stay the night before was helping Kasumi with the laundry. They had planned that day to visit Ranma at the hospital but after getting a call from Akane there was no need to. Kasumi had taken that opportunity on the phone to lecture Akane a little about skipping class today. It was a light scolding though. She understood what her little sister was going through.

From afar she could hear the phone ringing. She stopped her work and rushed inside and reached for the phone.

"Hello?" she said to the phone.

"Hello, Kasumi?" came Ukyo's voice from the other side.

"Yes, who's this?"

"It's Ukyo. I was wondering if Ranma's condition is improving," she said.

"I'm not so sure of it but he's coming back home today, so maybe he's alright now," Kasumi replied.

"Oh, I see," Ukyo noted. "Is it okay if I came over then?" she asked.

"Of course it's fine. I'm sure Ranma would be happy to have his friends around," Kasumi said delightedly.

"Y-Yeah," Ukyo responded. "Thank you." With that the phone disconnected.

"I'm home!" Akane called out just as Kasumi replaced the phone onto its holder. Suddenly the whole house sprang to life as all the inhabitants moved to the front door with great enthusiasm mixed with anxiety. When they did, they were surprised to see Akane supporting Ranma as he limped his way inside.

"What happened?" Nodoka asked worriedly.

"It was another energy burst," Akane strained as she dragged Ranma. Genma and Soun came over to help Ranma.

"I'm fine," Ranma said weakly. "I managed to suppress it this time, just barely." He lightly pushed himself away from Genma and Soun to show that he was able to stand on his own. "I need to rest for a while," he said. Everyone then gave Ranma space for him to walk upstairs to his room. As soon as he disappeared, their attention shifted onto Akane.

"Are you alright?" Kasumi asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Akane replied. "He won't say it but it's getting worse," she continued despairingly. Everyone stared at her in a mix of pity and worry.

"I wish there was something we could do," she added. Her voice was shaky. She wouldn't admit it but her strength was faltering. It won't be long before she finally broke down she thought. Then, as if on cue, Soun came over to her and slowly pulled her into a hug.

"We'll figure something out, don't worry," he assured. He felt the burden on Akane lift a little as she gave out a soft sigh.

"Okay," Akane nodded a little. She broke the hug and stepped aside. "I think I'll go take a bath," she said, catching the small tears at the corners of her eyes with her fingers. They all watched her walk away. Everyone was quiet. They looked at each other and from their faces they knew that today was not going to be like any other.

Soun and Kasumi then moved away from the entrance slowly back into the house. Genma remained where he was, noticing Nodoka looking distressed. He placed one hand on her shoulder and held it firmly.

"Things will work out, I promise" he said, forcing a reassuring smile. Nodoka noticed the strain but she smiled anyway, glad that her husband was trying to be strong for her.

"Thank you," she said.

* * *

Today was an unusual day for the Cat Café as it wasn't open, to the surprise of potential customers. The owners had been rushing about whole morning to assemble materials to bring over to Ranma. Cologne still had no idea of what was wrong with the boy. She had stayed up nearly the whole night searching all kinds of books that were related. Even right now she was still trying to figure out the puzzle.

She heard the little bell ring as the front door opened. There was no need to go see who it was so she kept to the books and scrolls. She kept reading the same lines over and over, trying to find some sort of clue. She even switched between different references to see if there were anything related. But as determined as she was, Cologne had her limits. She was forced to make only one conclusion.

"The information we need has long disappeared," she whispered to herself.

The ancient knowledge must have been lost well before her time. Something this grave should have been passed down from generation to generation. But she's never heard any hint of it in her long life. This made the search for answers even more difficult. She out listed the notion of asking the Jusenkyo Guide figuring that he would have no clue of these occurrences. Which meant it required direct investigation on Jusenkyo.

"All materials collected great-grandmother," Shampoo said as she came over to the back of the restaurant.

Cologne looked over her shoulder at Shampoo. Indeed all the materials necessary to test on Ranma were there. After getting nod of approval from her great grandmother, Shampoo then placed the basket she carried on the floor.

"Where's Mousse?" Cologne asked.

"No idea," Shampoo replied. She stepped closer. "Have you found anything?" she asked hopefully. Her expression turned sour when Cologne shook her head.

"Will Ranma be okay?" Shampoo then asked.

Cologne kept quiet for a while as she tried to construct her words.

"I can't say Shampoo," she replied finally. "I really can't."

Or rather she didn't want to. It came as a surprise to her when Ranma said that there could be a possible connection to Taro's demise which made the situation a whole lot worse. They needed to hurry and find out what was causing this anomaly. But she hid this fact from anyone else. She didn't want to worry Shampoo. She turned to look at her great-granddaughter.

She was distressed Cologne could see. Shampoo had been restricted from seeing Ranma after the wedding disaster. It was tough on Shampoo but Cologne had insisted that limiting communication with him would be best for now. Shampoo didn't understand why but she obeyed. Cologne could also tell that her great-granddaughter was frustrated that she didn't know about Ranma being hospitalized until yesterday. She never said a thing about it though but Cologne was still sharp enough to see through those layers of empathy.

Cologne thought of giving hope for Shampoo but figured that might hurt her even more later on if she was disappointed. Shampoo's life was as important to her as Ranma's life was to Shampoo. Cologne wasn't sure though how far those feelings went – considering the Amazon Law and all – but even then she knew that the girl would be in a lot of pain if anything horrible happened to Ranma.

Shampoo was now facing one of the most difficult challenge as an Amazon Warrior; as a woman; as a human being. The life of someone dear to her heart hanging in balance.

"I'm done," Mousse said, coming into the room. "The equipment has been packed." Cologne nodded in acknowledgement.

"Okay then," she said. Quickly she sorted back the books and scrolls at their places. "Let's go."

* * *

Ukyo sighed, looking around at the empty restaurant. She hated the idea of closing early but there was no one else around to look after the place. Her loyal helper had volunteered to take care of Ucchan's but she still didn't trust him. So she sent him off for a break and told him not to come back for a few days. It took her a lot of effort to get Konatsu out the door though.

And now she found it hard to send herself out the door even though it was only going to be for a day. But something in her said that once she stepped out of the door things were going to change. Nevertheless she had to leave as she was now expected by the Tendos. Slowly she closed the door and locked it, dreading the fact that there would be no profit coming from today. When she turned to the street she was surprised to find Ryoga in a very thrashed state.

"Ryoga?" she called out. It was loud enough to grab his attention. Ryoga looked over at her, confused at first but then his expression lightened knowing that it was only Ukyo. Then he had a sudden look of realization on him. He looked around at his surroundings as if he had only noticed it. He then hung his head and sighed heavily.

"I'm in Nerima aren't I?" he said despairingly.

"Kinda," Ukyo simply said.

"What do you mean kinda?" Ryoga asked, bewildered at her comment. Ukyo rolled her eyes.

"Of course you're in Nerima! Boy you're thick," she said. Ryoga frowned at her but didn't say anything for a while.

"I'll be going now," he broke his pause as he continued on his original path.

"Um, wouldn't you want to be heading the other way?" Ukyo asked, pointing at the direction from where he had been facing. He stopped and looked at her. He then looked in the direction she was pointing. He groaned again, cursing his troubled sense of direction. But before he could continue his journey, Ukyo stepped in front of him.

"You look terrible," she said. Ryoga shook his head.

"Just a little dirty. No big deal," he shrugged.

"Say, I'm heading over to Akane's place. Wanna come along?" Ukyo offered. At the mention of Akane, Ryoga went rigid and he began to fluster.

"I thought so," Ukyo said, laughing a little. "Come on," she said, tapping the boy in the arm indicating him to follow her. When he didn't follow her, she stopped and looked back.

"That's the wrong way genius," she called out.

"I'm not trying to get there," Ryoga replied over his shoulder.

"Wait," Ukyo said. She ran over to him and stopped him in his tracks again. "What do you mean?" she asked.

"I don't wanna go see Akane this time," he replied. Ukyo raised an eyebrow, rather surprised to hear this from him.

"Are you sure you didn't knock yourself in the head too hard or something?" Ukyo asked. Ryoga glared at her.

"I just wanna be alone for a while," he groaned.

"Well that's depressing," Ukyo said. "Then again, it's your usual behavior."

"Glad you noticed," Ryoga continued to glare at her. "Now if you'll excuse me," he said and brushed past Ukyo.

"Hey, what about Ranma? You don't wanna see him?" Ukyo said.

"Hah, he's the last person I'd wanna see," Ryoga replied.

"But, Ranma's in deep trouble this time," Ukyo said. Ryoga stopped in his tracks and turned to face her.

"What, some new powerful challenger came into the frame or something?" he asked.

"No, it's nothing like that," Ukyo said. All of a sudden her manner changed. Ryoga saw that she was definitely worried about Ranma and for some reason it was making worry too.

"Something is happening to him. I don't know what but it feels bad, really bad," she added. From her tone, Ryoga could tell that it was something serious. Not that he really cared about his rival but he was curious to know what was going on. Things were always interesting when it came to Ranma. What was it this time he wondered.

"I guess it wouldn't hurt to visit," he said. "Haven't fought him in a while anyway."

"What's the point? Don't you always lose?" Ukyo taunted. Ryoga gave her a withering glare but she didn't seem affected by it. Seeing it wasn't taking effect, Ryoga dropped the glare.

"Let's just go," he said as he started walking. He abruptly stopped when Ukyo tugged hard at his sleeve. He looked at Ukyo who had a straight-faced expression.

"Don't lose sight of me," she said and pulled him towards the other direction. Ryoga sighed in exasperation but followed the girl anyway.

* * *

It had been a while since the Tendo home had so many guests around. There was enough space for all of them but the space given between each of them wasn't to their liking. Rivals and tensed relations between them were turning the house into a time-bomb. Only one thing in common between them managed to hold down the cap of the bottle and that was the concern for Ranma, at least for the most of them.

Ranma himself had not emerged from his room yet though which added the tension among the visitors. The girls were glaring intensely at each other and any wrong move would turn the skirmish into an all-out war. The Tendos, save for Akane - who joined the stare battle - were watching them intently so that they could spring up on them if they were to fire at each other. Ryoga was also feeling the heat and was getting frustrated of Ranma making them wait. He was about to go and get Ranma himself but then the most anticipated person finally came down from upstairs.

"Uh, why are you all here?" Ranma asked.

Instantly the girls' attention redirected to him.

"We're worried about you obviously," Ukyo said.

"No, Shampoo more worried for Ranma," Shampoo said.

The two then proceeded to glare at each other. Before they could start an argument Ranma quickly said.

"Uh, that's very nice of you guys."

"So, what's been happening to you?" Ryoga asked, folding his arms across his chest. He didn't really care what was going on in his rival's life. He was just curious. At least, he kept telling himself that. Ranma didn't answer Ryoga but just looked away.

"Fine, I didn't really want to know anyway," Ryoga said.

"Ranma, I'm going to further examine you so that we can truly find out what's going on with you," Cologne interrupted.

"Alright," Ranma replied solemnly, nodding a little. Everyone found his tone worrying as if the situation had gotten even worse.

"You already know?" Cologne asked, wishing to clarify her suspicions. The others waited for Ranma to answer. "Tell us," Cologne added. Ranma remained unresponsive.

He searched the crowd and found Akane. He held her gaze and she held his. Akane could feel what Ranma felt at that moment. Despair. Hopelessness. It took all of what little strength she had to hold back her tears.

Ryoga frowned at Ranma's behavior. It was one of those rare times when Ranma was feeling very discouraged but this time it was towards something unknown. He had at first thought of leaving right after dinner but his curiosity was coaxing him to stick around for a while to see further developments of the situation.

Speaking of dinner, Kasumi came out of the kitchen and announced that it was ready. Everyone momentarily forgot the pig-tailed boy and happily welcomed the food. Those who were able to help gave a hand to set the food on the table. The table itself couldn't hold everyone so some had to eat away from the others.

It was unexpected to see Shampoo and Ukyo not trying to squeeze in with Ranma. They understood the grimness of the situation and decided to not bother him … too much. Shampoo was starting to feel more and more agitated. She had been kept in the dark of the whole situation. Not even her great grandmother would talk about it. Even now she was still trying to grasp the reality of things. And yet she could feel the weight of the atmosphere. She was worried for Ranma and she didn't know why. But she remained quiet and didn't want to ask anyone about it right now. Everyone seemed so fragile. They tried hiding it but she could see. She wasn't blind to emotions as people would normally associate her to be. But she knew that the truth would come out eventually so she decided to be patient, despite how hard it was.

Ukyo could understand that Shampoo was hurting inside. From how she behaved at the moment, Ukyo knew that Shampoo was not informed of the details. Not that she herself knew much either but she definitely had more insight of the situation compared to Shampoo. Ukyo could see Shampoo losing her composure a little and was trying hard to keep it intact. For once she was concerned for her Chinese rival. Shampoo was a dangerous young woman and events such as this might tip her off. She hoped that whatever was wrong with Ranma would simply pass and everyone could return to their normal lives.

It was also tense at the dinner table. There was no enmity between any of them but they felt that any wrong move would cause everyone to explode. Akane looked to be the one most suffering from this. She was the one who knew the most of Ranma's problem but not as much as she wanted to. And that made her worry to no end. Sitting next to him was adding pressure to that. But somehow she felt that being close to him was the only way to understand what was going on inside his mind. She could feel him to put it clearly.

Akane looked across at Ranma's mother and pitied her. It must be hurtful to see Ranma in such a condition but not understanding the whole thing itself. And it saddened Akane more that she understood Ranma better than his mother. She was ashamed as she felt like she was taking Nodoka's place. At that moment Akane just wanted to burst out and tell everything to her. She wouldn't care if she broke down in front of everyone. She knew she would. But she didn't want anyone to be frantic. It would cause problems for everyone, especially Ranma. When he was ready he would tell them she believed.

"Ryoga, I wanna talk to you after this," Ranma suddenly said. Ryoga, who was sitting against the wall facing him, looked up in surprise.

"Me?" he said, finding it suspicious to have been called. Ranma nodded in reply and placed down his empty rice bowl.

"Thanks for the food, Kasumi," he said, giving her a soft smile.

Kasumi noticed there was something hidden in that smile. A smile that showed a particular appreciation. Ranma had always been thankful but this one was different. It's as if the typical dinner she made today was some sort of gift for him. She didn't understand why but it showed on his smile. Kasumi could only smile back to that.

"Ranma," was all she said.

Ryoga quickly finished his dinner and placed his empty dishes on the table. Ranma then stood up and gestured Ryoga to follow him. Ryoga kept a close eye on Ranma as he was led to the dojo. He primed himself, ready for a possible duel which was how their meetings always ended up with. The two boys entered the dojo and paid their respects. Ranma then moved towards the center of the room and stopped. Ryoga's eyes were fixed on the boy who had his back turned to him. Whatever surprises the pig-tailed boy was planning, Ryoga was ready for it.

"One last fight," Ranma suddenly said.

That however, caught him by surprise but Ranma had not turned around yet. Quickly he regained his composure. That was strange. Usually he would resort to cheap tricks to win the battle. He had virtually never heard Ranma challenging him. It often was the opposite.

"What do you mean 'one last fight'?" Ryoga asked. Those words had an ominous tone to it. Maybe he might finally learn what was going on with Ranma.

"Exactly what it meant," Ranma said, finally turning around. His face held a hardened expression. He was serious with this.

"One last decisive battle. No bets, no prizes. A fair match. Whoever wins, whoever loses, that's final. Right here and now," he added. "Do you accept my challenge?"

Ranma was already in a stance and was immovable. He was rarely ever this serious and those times it usually involved Akane. This time however, Ryoga couldn't figure out what was the fight for. But a challenge is a challenge and there was no way he would turn it down.

"Alright, you asked for it," Ryoga responded getting into his stance.

The two stared each other down. Ranma moved in first which Ryoga anticipated well enough to block. Ranma went for another strike at Ryoga's head but he blocked it again. Expecting Ranma to build his attacks, Ryoga quickly countered with a kick towards Ranma's mid-section. Ranma managed to block that but the strength in that kick pushed him back a little. Ryoga closed the gap between them and went for Ranma's head. Ranma sidestepped the attack and swung his left leg to connect with Ryoga's back, sending him tumbling forwards. Ryoga regained his footing quickly and attacked again. The two went on like that, hurling each other around, for a long time but it seemed there would be no winner or loser as both were equally matched.

Meanwhile back in the living room, they were listening to Cologne explaining what she knew about Ranma. She had been reluctant at first but everyone was pressuring her especially Shampoo so she had to spill it out. It was the first time they heard about the anomaly Ranma was facing and that it all had possible connections to Taro and even Jusenkyo. The only thing was that they were still unable to truly prove it.

"Without Taro's body to inspect and no way to compare with Jusenkyo we can't take further action on this," Cologne said.

"But wouldn't comparing with other Jusenkyo victims be sufficient?" Genma asked, looking genuinely concerned for Ranma.

"That's the problem. There has been nothing to link between Ranma and the others," Cologne replied. "Honestly, it doesn't make any sense."

"So all we can do now is just hope for the best?" Nodoka asked fearfully.

"I'm afraid so," Cologne said. "But maybe this test would be able to help us understand the problem."

"How will you examine him?" Nabiki asked.

"I've detected an unknown magical energy inside him. If I could determine what it actually is then we'd be able to solve the puzzle," Cologne said. She motioned for Shampoo to bring over the things she had collected. "I've looked up on methods of how to detect this level of energy. Since it can't be specified I've brought materials for various kinds of tests. So it might be a while before we can form a conclusion," she added.

Just then Ranma and Ryoga came back to the living room. Both were heavily drenched with sweat. Everyone diverted their attention to them.

"If you don't mind, Kasumi I'd like to freshen up," Ryoga said. His tone was somewhat off as if he was shaken by something.

"Oh, right this way then. I'll prepare it for you," Kasumi said as she stood up and led him to the bathroom.

"Thank you, Kasumi," Ryoga said as she followed her.

"Akane, can I see you for a while," Ranma said.

Akane looked up at him with wide eyes. That strong feeling of despair was still in his eyes. Did something happen between the two boys? Ryoga looked like he had a sudden revelation. She wondered what it was that Ranma told him. She hoped that whatever he was going to say to her was the same.

Akane nodded after what seemed like a long time of silence. She stood up and followed Ranma outside. Shampoo and Ukyo looked on in disappointment. They were about to silently follow them when Nabiki stopped them.

"No, not now girls," she ordered calmly. "I may be emotionless but I know when a situation gets serious," she added. The two girls sat back down and stared at Nabiki, finding her actions unusual.

"I can't believe this info got past me all this time till today," she said, sounding frustrated. She tried hiding it but Shampoo and Ukyo could see that the ice cold girl they knew was worried about Ranma as much as the others. They didn't want to mention it, figuring it would upset Nabiki. So they kept quiet and waited for Ranma and Akane to return.

* * *

Nearly the whole bathing area was filled with steam coming from the hot-water-filled tub. Ryoga had his whole body submerged until only his head remained above the water. He stared at the wall of the tub across him while he tried to make sense of what had happened in the dojo.

He and Ranma had been fighting for a long time now. They had been so absorbed with their duel that they didn't realize that it was already dark. Neither of them were letting up nor getting the upper hand on the other. There was no end in sight for the battle.

Ranma dodged another attack from Ryoga and put some space in between the two. He then raised a hand in a stopping gesture to Ryoga's surprise.

"That's enough," Ranma said calmly although he was visibly panting. Ryoga didn't argue and lowered his arms.

"Ranma, will you explain what's going on?" he asked. Patiently Ryoga waited for Ranma to respond, something that was quite unlike him. But he understood the predicament Ranma was in and didn't want to push him.

"Would you believe me if I said I don't understand it myself?" Ranma started. Not the answer Ryoga was hoping for.

"Just this once, I believe you," Ryoga replied. Ranma chuckled at that. He then walked over to the other boy. Ryoga wondered what Ranma was going to do. His primary guess was that Ranma was going to land a cheap shot so that their self-interrupted battle would have a true end.

"Hold out your hand," Ranma said, to Ryoga's surprise. He looked at Ranma strangely but did as he said. He still kept wary in case Ranma was about to twist him over and send him to the ground. Again to his surprise Ranma took hold of his arm firmly.

"Promise me Ryoga," Ranma said. His expression changed sharply but there was also a look of desperation. "Promise me you'll take care of Akane," he continued. Ryoga was bewildered.

"W-What?" Ryoga managed. "What are you saying?" he asked, wanting a clearer image of Ranma's words.

"Promise me!" Ranma stressed on, holding Ryoga's arm tighter.

Ryoga saw that Ranma needed to know that this promise would be upheld. He didn't understand why. But he knew better than anyone that if it involved Akane it was something important. Ryoga reasoned with that and settled for an unreasoned pledge.

"Alright," Ryoga replied, nodding slightly. Ranma gave an approving smile and nodded as well. The boys then released their holds on each other's arms.

"Come on, let's head back," Ranma said.

Despite just accepting the promise, Ryoga still wondered about the reason for the necessity for such a promise. It must have something to do with this anomaly Ranma was facing. He was probably worried if anything were to happen to him … Ryoga didn't want to go there. He sincerely hoped that they would be able to know the reality of the problem by today and put an end to it. Figuring that he had spent a good amount of time in the bath, he stood up and left it to go dry up and redress.

* * *

Ranma had led Akane to the outer walkway encircling the house. Night had already fallen on Nerima which left most of the backyard dark. It was chilly outside as the winds had begun picking up. In the distance they could hear low rumbles of thunder in the sky.

"It's going to rain soon," Ranma said, looking on in the direction of the oncoming rain clouds. Akane didn't respond to that, not that he had expected her to.

Akane was only staring at him, desperately searching in him for any sign of good news. She saw nothing. In fact he seemed to be worse. Not physically but deep inside she sensed there was a void. Ranma had fallen so deep into sadness that it created a black hole in his heart. What had made it so in just a few hours?

She still had her eyes on Ranma when he turned to look at her. Again she searched his eyes but again she felt the heavy despair weighing down on her.

"R-Ranma, are you really okay?" Akane asked. Her words were barely audible as she choked on them, holding back painful tears. Ranma quickly went over to her and held her. Akane paid no attention to his sweat-covered clothes and sank into the hug. She let go of herself and broke down in his arms. Her knees shook heavily and they gave away but Ranma held her up. Her cries were muffled as she pressed her face against Ranma's chest.

"Akane," Ranma called softly, fighting back his own tears. Her cries were stabbing and twisting his heart. "Akane, listen to me," he called again. He released her and held her shoulders. Her tears were unstoppable now and Ranma could see she was beginning to lose reason.

"Akane, be strong!" Ranma said.

She wouldn't stop crying.

"Whatever happens to me, don't give up!" Ranma continued.

Akane closed her eyes tightly, trying to force the tears away but they still flowed down her face.

"You need to move on! You need to live!" Ranma went on, lightly shaking her.

She held her face down, unable to face him.

"Please, Akane! I don't want you to suffer because of me!" he said. "Sometimes in life you have to let go!"

Akane kept her head down and she shook her head as she continued sobbing.

"I love you, Akane!" Ranma finally said.

Akane's eyes snapped open and her head shot up. Her wide, shocked eyes locked with Ranma's. She was holding her breath as she stared deeply into his eyes and as Ranma drew in closer to her. She felt Ranma's warm breathing on her lips. She felt a great shiver run down her spine as his lips brushed hers. Akane remained paralyzed as Ranma fully kissed her but only for a moment before she began sinking into it. Her tears finally stopped and slowly her eyes closed.

They remained connected like that for quite a while, long enough for Ryoga, Ukyo and Shampoo to burn the image into their minds. All three were as stiff as statues. Deep down, they had known of the truth between Ranma and Akane but seeing it unfolding in front of their eyes was still very much painful. They wouldn't dare disturb them now, seeing that all hope was lost. As if on cue, the rain fell, harshly complimenting their emotions.

Akane felt the kiss ending and she began to return to reality after what felt like an eternity had passed. Then she heard the roar of the rain pouring down and her eyes widened. She looked up at Ranma and went pale as she stared into his blank eyes.

"Ranma," Akane called out. "Ranma!" she called out again, this time frantically shaking him. He was still devoid of any emotion despite Akane's efforts to bring him back. Ranma mechanically pushed Akane away and walked towards the rain.

"Ranma, no!" Akane cried, pulling hard on his arm.

But Ranma did not budge nor did he give any verbal response. He pried his arm away and pushed Akane to the ground. With his obstacle out of the way, Ranma continued into the rain, changing himself into a girl.

"Hey, Ranma!" Ryoga called out, infuriated that he had pushed Akane. He then ran over to Akane along the walkway.

"Are you okay?" he asked. Shampoo and Ukyo joined them. The two girls looked on at Ranma worriedly.

"Save him," Akane shakily said, holding herself up with her hands. "Save him, please," she pleaded, gripping Ryoga's sleeve.

Ryoga's heart was wrenched again, seeing how much care Akane had for Ranma. But quickly he realized the tone in Akane's voice. Something extremely awful was going to happen.

"Ranma!" he heard Ukyo call out. Ryoga turned to look at Ranma standing in the rain, soaked to the bone. A dim glow surrounded Ranma. The water falling around her was beginning to act strange. The rain was bending around her and the droplets were forming a sort of shell around Ranma. It was forming rapidly around Ranma and water was also filling up the inside.

"Help him!" Akane yelled desperately.

At that Ryoga stood up and took a stance at the edge of the walkway, as if receiving an order from his commander. He brought his hands close to each other in front of his abdomen.

The water was already filled up halfway.

"Stay back!" he ordered.

A small orb of red energy began to flicker in between his palms. Quickly it began to grow into a brightly glowing ball. Ryoga stabilized the ball of chi, adding more energy to it. Containing it was becoming a little difficult as the energy ball became denser.

"Shishi Hokodan!" Ryoga roared, shooting his chi attack at Ranma hoping to break the now complete shell. The Shishi Hokodan exploded upon contact, vaporizing the rain around it.

"Did it work?" Ukyo said.

They were all trying to peer through the thick steam caused by the explosion.

"No way," Shampoo said.

The steam cleared and they saw the water shell was still intact. Ranma was now trapped in a supernatural water tank.

"Again!" Ryoga said. He built up his attack again when at the same time the rest of the house came out to the walkway.

"What's going on?" Soun demanded. Then he and everyone else saw what was happening to Ranma. "Why is Ranma like that?!" he yelled, starting to panic.

At that moment Ryoga fired his Shishi Hokodan again. This time instead of exploding, the energy bomb vanished and the shell took on the red glow of the energy. Inside the shell, Ranma turned around to face them with dark voided eyes. The shell burned with a brilliant red color and more steam covered the area from the heat.

Ryoga anticipated what was about to happen and stood firm with his hands stretched out.

"Everyone! Get down!" Ryoga ordered. Everyone hurriedly stepped back and took cover in whatever way they could. Those vulnerable were shielded by those who were stronger.

As Ryoga had guessed a beam of energy shot out of the shell. His eyes widened, realizing that it was stronger than the one he had shot moments before. Nevertheless, he stood his ground. The reflected Shishi Hokodan hit Ryoga and created a tremendous explosion, ripping apart the walkway he stood on. Akane, Ukyo and Shampoo were thrown back, crashing into and ripping the wall of the house. When the smoke cleared and everyone recovered they saw Ryoga still standing with his outstretched arms. He had been pushed back by the blast but still remained firm. His clothes were torn and some parts of his body were singed. Ryoga then dropped to his knees, unable to withstand the effects of the blast.

"It … It didn't work," he gritted his teeth, glaring at Ranma.

All of a sudden, a number of people moved in to attack the immobile Ranma. Ukyo had drawn her spatula up high to strike a maximum blow. Genma, who had already turned into a panda, was rapidly advancing at Ranma. Even Soun was rushing towards the troubled cursed boy. Their attacks landed simultaneously on the shell from different sides. They were surprised to find that their attacks did not even stir the hardened water. All of a sudden they felt a strong force hitting them back, sending them flying off in different directions. They landed rough on the ground but quickly recovered. None of them were not going to give up that easy though. They went in for another strike. Again the water shell reflected their attacks by the double and they were thrown to the ground again. The three remained on the ground for a while, groaning in pain.

'I won't lose Ranma,' Ukyo thought stubbornly.

Memories of when they were children came to her mind. She saw the two of them back then having duels with the prize being okonomiyaki. She remembered Ranma always being the better of the two. She remembered making Ranma her very first okonomiyaki. It wasn't perfect but it was an item of value and she had been glad when Ranma appreciated it. She remembered them creating a mess and getting into trouble. She remembered when he and his father left her behind and how angry she had felt then. Suddenly, she realized how important Ranma really was to her. The relationship they had was something else much stronger than him being her supposed fiancé.

'Our bonds have lasted through time, even when it was supposed to be severed then,' Ukyo thought as she stood up. Her legs trembled as she struggled to support herself after two powerful hits.

"I won't lose my childhood friend! Not today!" Ukyo yelled and she charged in again. For the third time she hit the shell with full force. As the first two attempts, nothing happened to the shell but she received another counter-attack and again she flew across the lawn and crashed into the ground.

Right after Ukyo attacked, Genma went in again and like before he was thrown back. He managed to land on his feet this time though but it was evident he was struggling to stand.

Sudden memories of him and his son came to his mind. It was as if the whole 10 year journey flashed before his eyes. He remembered when he first took Ranma away from his mother, effectively cutting the bonds between mother and son. Then he saw images of Ranma going through rigorous and sometimes near impossible training sessions. He remembered his mistake about the Cat Fist technique. He inwardly cringed at the physical pain Ranma must have endured from all the ridiculous training methods he had put the boy through. He remembered Jusenkyo where it had been one of his worst blunders. Even after all that though, Ranma had become a fighter virtually unmatched by anyone.

'I never had the chance,' Genma thought. He recalled he had always been taunting Ranma, saying that he wasn't good enough; that he'd never be the strongest.

'I never had the chance to say I was proud of you,' he thought.

Regret and anger began welling up within Genma. A visible heated aura coated his panda body. It was hot enough to produce little trails of steam. Genma charged in to attack again, letting out a furious growl.

'I will save my son!'

He landed another powerful hit that would have shattered the Tendo Dojo but it didn't have the desired effect on the water shell. Instead it absorbed all that energy and amplified it twice as much before sending it back at Genma. Genma was blown away and crashed into a tree at the far side of the compound, snapping it in half.

Soun, having seen Genma and Ukyo being thrown away like rag dolls was beginning to doubt whether they could pierce this thing. Time was running out and they hadn't even dented the thing yet. Soun then noticed Akane frozen in horror while she watched the events unfolding before her eyes. All of a sudden he regained the spirit to continue fighting. He had a reason to save Ranma. Akane would be very deeply affected if they were to lose Ranma here. God knows how shattered Akane's spirit would be and Soun didn't want to see that happen.

His battle aura flared up from the new-found courage.

"Ranma!" he called out, though he knew that Ranma's mind was already lost. "I won't let you cower out and leave Akane!" he continued before charging in again. He landed another strong blow like before but it was doubly reflected back at him and he flew back, landing harshly on the ground.

Seeing that the three fighters were down, Cologne decided to take the next action. She hurriedly came up to Ryoga.

"Quickly Ryoga!" she ordered. "A mighty final blow! We'll end it here!" she said, immediately forming an energy ball of her own. Ryoga didn't hesitate one second and began forming up another energy sphere. It was taking a toll on him as he had lost energy while blocking his reflected Shishi Hokodan earlier. Nevertheless he was able to create a formidable Shishi Hokodan. It would be his last though as he had squeezed all his energy into it. And from the feel of it, he could tell Cologne was going all out as well.

'If this doesn't work, then God help Ranma,' he thought.

"Now!" Cologne ordered.

With a loud battle cry, Ryoga released his Shishi Hokodan at the same time as Cologne released her chi attack. The combined energies created a blazing orange beam and it hit the shell with full force. Everyone was awed by the tremendous amount of power contained by the beam. Even Ryoga was wide-eyed.

To their utter dismay the powerful beam was completely absorbed by the shell. Ryoga froze in shock and he began to lose hope. It was impossible to break it. Then he realized the danger everyone was in. That amount of energy if doubled up would blow apart anything in its path and Ryoga knew that it wouldn't be possible to stop such a force.

"Everyone, run!" he ordered. Everyone else was already escaping into the further part of the house. Akane however remained frozen at her place. There was no room for hesitation, so Ryoga picked Akane up and ran towards where the others were going, following Cologne and Shampoo. He fell forward as the reflected beam ripped through the edge of the house and blasting a hole through the wall surrounding the compound. Ryoga hoped that none of the neighbors got hurt because of that horrific pillar of energy.

He looked back and the water shell was still perfectly intact. Ryoga's frustration reached its limit and without thinking he charged towards Ranma.

"Dammit Ranma!" he yelled. At about the same time, Shampoo also charged in as well. The moment the two went into the rain, their bodies shrunk. They still charged on though, and hit the shell with all the force they had. Their efforts were futile and they were thrown back like the others.

Mousse came out of hiding and readied his whole arsenal of hidden weapons. Seeing Shampoo suddenly rushing off, he had automatically reacted to helping her, even if it meant saving his bitter rival.

"I'll help you Shampoo!" he yelled after her. He saw the cat getting back up and attacking again. It was painful to see his lover being thrown off like that. He was about to send all his weapons flying when Cologne came to stop him.

"Don't! That thing reflects everything thrown at it!" Cologne warned. "You'll not only risk your own life but everyone else's too!"

Cologne was right at that. He had momentarily forgotten that there were other people around as well. If it were him alone he wouldn't hesitate to risk his life for the sake of his beloved. Blind as he was, he was still humane and wouldn't want to hurt anyone innocent.

"Shit!" Mousse said, dropping his weapons. The fact that he was of no use infuriated him to no end. Not even his cursed form would help. He knew; from how badly Ryoga and Shampoo were being beaten by the immobile water shell.

Ryoga and Shampoo in their little forms were barely able to stand after charging in countless times. They weren't even able to walk straight now. There was even blood on their heads and it was mixing with the rain, making it flow down their faces. Ukyo, Soun and Genma had also made more attempts but none were working. Now they lie motionless on the ground after numerous strong impacts that would have broken a few bones. Ryoga was not going to give up yet. He wouldn't have Ranma leaving Akane and end up hurting her again. It was unacceptable.

He steeled himself for another attack. Even though his body was small currently, it didn't mean he would stop trying to find a weak spot to free Ranma. Just as he was about to charge again, he froze when …

"Ryoga, stop!" Akane called out.

How could he have forgotten? Akane was there and she had witnessed him changing forms. The secret was out and he knew he was in trouble. He could hear Akane approaching from behind. He was surely going to be killed. Or at the very least be thrown out of the house and forbidden to ever come back.

"You've done enough Ryoga," Akane said. Those were kind, unexpected words but Ryoga noted the anger in her voice. He wasn't sure towards what but it was very likely towards him. Ryoga remained at his place as he watched Akane moving to the shell. His little pig eyes widened in surprise when Akane charged towards the shell.

'I won't give up on you Ranma,' she thought determinedly.

She sent a strong punch onto the shell which quickly recoiled as the shell reflected back the force. Akane was able to remain on her feet and charged in again. She sent a spinning back heel kick but it was also deflected and she went flying, twisting in the air. She crashed to the ground but not before she stood back up. Ryoga came about and squealed, begging for Akane to stop. She defiantly charged in again and was reflected back as well. Just then, Cologne jumped high above the shell. She tried another chi attack. Again the energy ball was absorbed by the shell. She proceeded to fire another one followed quickly by another. Bullets of chi were attacking the shell in rapid succession. Heavy steam was forming around the water shell.

Unfortunately, when the steam cleared, the shell was still there with Ranma completely unharmed. The shell glowed with a yellow aura as it started charging up. All of a sudden, the shell let out a flurry of chi bullets flying in all directions. Those vulnerable ones rushed to find shelter from the rapid fires of energy. Cologne was hit by at least 10 of her own chi and that sent her falling to the far edge of the compound. Mousse managed to provide cover for Nabiki, Kasumi and Nodoka but took multiple chi hits as well. He staggered but remained standing, knowing that the people he was protecting may still be in danger.

Akane had taken countless hits by the chi bullets. She was on the ground writhing in pain. Even moving a single finger felt painful. Ryoga crawled over to her to comfort her but halted when Akane slowly stood up again. She was in no shape to fight anymore but she still approached Ranma. She met the cursed boy's eyes and still couldn't find the Ranma she knew. Ryoga watched desperately as Akane got closer to the water shell. She took a stance once she was close enough and took a few breaths. She drew back her fist and gave a huge punch to the shell.

She heard loud, sickening cracks but it wasn't from the shell. All of a sudden she felt overwhelming pain surging through her right arm. She was surprised that she wasn't thrown back but she froze for a while as the huge amount of pain numbed out everything else. Then she realized what had happened and she let out a piercing scream as her severely broken right arm fell to her side. Akane fell to her knees as the pain became unbearable. She continued to scream while tears of agony streamed down her face. She vaguely realized that someone was holding her. She looked up while forcing herself to not lose consciousness and saw that it was Kasumi.

"N-No, it's not safe," Akane struggled to say as she fought back the pain. Kasumi didn't give a response to that but just daintily held her.

Hopelessly, they all looked back at Ranma within the water cage. Bubbles started coming out of Ranma's mouth. Her body began to writhe as it demanded for air. All of a sudden, Ranma's eyes returned, replacing the void expression that was before. Her eyes went wide and she started hitting the inner walls of the shell, trying to get out. Everyone was horrified to see this and went to attack the shell, including Kasumi, Nabiki and Nodoka. Even Mousse had flown in as a duck and attacked. Those with weapons alternated swiftly with those attacking bare-handedly. This time however, there was no reaction from the hardened water. Their attacks were still absorbed but none were reflected back. But no matter how hard they tried, the shell would not break.

Ranma kept on slamming the shell from the inside using her body. She was growing more frantic by the second. Large bubbles began bursting out of her mouth as she desperately gasped for air. Her attempts grew weaker as her energy began to drain. Deep down she felt that this time there was no way out. Ranma ceased her attempts and watched as the people around her frantically trying to break her free. Many of them were covered in bruises. Many of them attacked as if they had lost their minds. Many were barely even able to stand any longer but kept on trying.

It wrenched her heart to see how far they would go to save her. Enemies, lovers and friends. They weren't discernable if one didn't really know them. She tried to yell at them to stop hurting themselves but the water muffled her words and only furious bubbles came out instead of her voice. She could only signal them to stop. Akane took notice and she called out to everyone. Ranma could only hear her muffled voice but she saw that everyone was halting their attempts.

Akane had successfully stopped the simultaneous attacks and she gazed back at Ranma. The despair in their eyes matched each other. Both of them were frozen in place, mirroring each other. Akane then held up her left hand to touch the shell. Ranma did the same with her right hand. Weakly she touched the shell wall too. Their eyes were never apart from each other.

Somehow through that indestructible shell, Akane could feel Ranma's touch. It was a warm sensation. Time stood still for a while as they had one last connection with each other.

Ranma's eyes began to close. She was visibly trying to fight it but she had been in the water for too long. Her hand dropped slowly to her side. Akane was frantic again and she started knocking on the shell.

"Ranma! Ranma!" she yelled. Again and again she called out her name. At times her screams were accompanied by thunder. Her tears fell like the heavy rain falling upon them. Her left hand was beginning to hurt but the pain inside her heart numbed it out and she kept on hitting the hard water shell. The others were powerless to do anything. No one was able to hold back their tears from the soul breaking scene they were witnessing. Akane's screams were tearing right through them, threatening them to go hysterical.

It all seemed to happen slowly.

Ranma's eyes finally closed and she became still. A sudden emptiness struck the gathering as reality sank in. Akane was frozen in her place as were everyone present. It felt like a very long time when suddenly the shell broke. Water burst out and washed over those close enough. Ranma's lifeless body dropped to the ground. Everyone then huddled over to Ranma. Akane and Nodoka were trying to wake her up. Kasumi quickly regained her senses and rushed into the house to alert the paramedics.

"Ranma!" Akane called out.

"Ranma please wake up!" Nodoka said.

They shook her and lightly slapped her face but she wasn't moving. They tried making her cough out water but it wasn't happening. Akane tried to revive her but with each cycle her hope dwindled. She lost count of how many attempts before she was pushed away by a crew of paramedics. Akane was losing her senses and tried to wrestle the medic away but Nodoka pulled and held her back. The medics took over while everyone else watched in desperate hope. Nearly everyone was breaking down.

The rain continued to fall on a very long and tragic night in Nerima.

* * *

By this point I believe some of you may have realized what I've put you through. And this ends Part 1 of the entire story but the story has not ended yet. Next I will take you guys on a journey in the present time to see how our characters are faring. Till the next time guys and hopefully not too long.


	8. P2: Akane Tendo

So here we are, the continuation of the story and the beginning of Part 2. Just to avoid confusion, this chapter is largely set right after the events of the previous chapter. I'm sorry for the long wait. Life is much less hectic now so I'll be able to focus on the story more. I'll try my best in getting the chapters up quickly before my first year begins. Yup, still waiting to go to university.

I didn't check things as much I should have because frankly I got lazy. Though, I did one last check before uploading. Sorry if there were mistakes here and there. Probably missed them out.

Enough about that. Enjoy the story everyone. And uh, brace yourselves all right (just in case).

* * *

**The Curse of Jusenkyo**

Part 2

Akane Tendo

_Beep… Beep…_

Those sounds … they were familiar.

_Beep… Beep…_

And there was a funny kind of smell.

_Beep… Beep…_

The darkness began letting up and the light in the room pierced through.

_Beep… Beep…_

Slowly, her eyes opened to find that she was comfortably lying down on a hospital bed. Bewildered, she tried to think of how she ended up there. The last thing she recalled was a heavy rain.

Her eyes still felt weighed down but she noticed blurry figures all around her.

"Akane," one of them called out softly.

Her mind was still clouded, dulling her action to respond.

"Akane," someone repeated.

Her vision slowly became clearer and she was now able to identify who were in the room. Her whole family was there, as well as Ranma's parents. Ukyo was also present. Why were they here? But then, why was _she_ here in the first place?

She saw their morose faces and found it strange. Wouldn't it normally be joy when someone woke up in a hospital bed unless of course something had happened to her. But she felt fine. In fact she wanted to sit up.

Then she realized something odd and then followed quickly by a sudden chill engulfing her body. She didn't feel her right arm let alone move it. Was it the anesthetic? But she could feel the rest of her body fine. Still a little groggy, she moved her left hand under the thick blanket and used it to push herself up. The blanket slipped off her and what she saw – or rather what she didn't see – shocked her. Her entire right arm was gone and what remained of it was just a small portion slightly below her shoulder joint, wrapped in bandage.

All of a sudden, images of what happened the other night surged in. She was reliving the moments and they were just as clear as if she had been physically sent back there. She could feel the rain weighing down on her, the desperation on everyone's faces, and the agony in her heart. But what she remembered the most was the image of Ranma floating, trapped in that water shell. Seeing Ranma drowning in it was a horrifying experience; one that had now been well-ingrained into her mind.

Strangely though, Akane didn't feel the despair she expected to feel. Her eyes were dry of tears. She wasn't shaking involuntarily. Her heart wasn't beating fast. Everyone else found her lack of reaction unusual too.

"Are you okay?" Ukyo was the first to ask, moving a little closer to Akane.

Akane looked up at everyone and noticed their worried expressions for the first time. She felt it was all strangely out of place. Like there was nothing to be sad about at all.

"I'm fine really," she replied. She hoped they heard the sincerity in her voice. Their worried faces were still there but at least the tension alleviated a little.

"How long was I out?" Akane quickly changed the subject, adjusting herself so that she was comfortable.

"Nearly two days," Nabiki answered.

"Two days," Akane murmured. She looked at the stub of her arm, finding the situation rather … funny.

"They said the bones in your arm had been severely shattered. Not only they couldn't reconstruct it, the pieces had damaged much of your flesh so they had to remove your arm quickly," Kasumi said. "We weren't really sure about how you'd react to this but you seem –"

"I'm fine Kasumi – quite surprisingly – but I'm okay," Akane reassured, strengthening her words with a smile. Kasumi sighed in relief and returned the smile. "I really want to go home quickly though," Akane said.

"You may need to remain here for a while for the wound to heal," Kasumi responded. "But considering it's you, I don't think it'll be long." Akane nodded in response.

They stayed with her for a while. From what they were saying, Akane knew that her family had been virtually restless the moment she passed out. It was the first time anything major happening to the family since Soun's wife passed. They knew she'd survive though. They were more concerned of her mental health. But seeing Akane taking her new situation positively, it didn't seem they had to worry at all.

Akane apologized for causing them so much anxiety but her family assured her and put her worries aside, saying that "As long as you're alright now". It made Akane feel a little better.

They stayed for a long time, talking about hundreds of things Akane got tired keeping up with. It was quite the usual way a lengthy conversation would end up – veering off drastically from the original topic.

Akane noticed one thing peculiar the whole time though … no one brought up anything on Ranma.

"Shampoo, Cologne, they didn't come?" Akane asked. She wasn't really surprised when they said no. No harm in asking she figured.

"Mousse, Ryoga?"

Again they replied no.

At the thought of Ryoga, she recalled seeing him change into his piglet form. She had a long enough look to discover the resemblance the pig had to P-chan. All of a sudden she remembered all the times she had pulled the little pig into bed with her, how he seemed to act a little funny around hot water and how he and Ranma always quarrelled.

She knew it was appropriate to be angry at Ryoga but like before, she didn't feel anything at all. She felt a little disgusted but not mad. It was strange to feel neutral at a time like this when so many things had happened in a short time. It was as if the overwhelming events had locked her emotions deep inside her. Part of her wanted to unlock that cage but part of her felt it was better this way.

Not that she'd easily forgive Ryoga though.

When they were about to serve her dinner, everyone decided to head home after being insisted by Akane that she would be alright. They said that they would take turns to come and visit her every day until she was allowed to leave the hospital. She wanted to say that it wasn't necessary to do that but she knew nothing she said would change their minds.

Soon everyone left the room and she was now alone with her dinner. She never thought hospital food would taste this good. Then again, she hadn't been eating for nearly two days and her body was craving for real food instead of the sugar drips she was getting.

As she ate, Akane was already thinking of what she was going to do to keep herself entertained during her stay. She definitely didn't want to think about what happened that night and television would only be entertaining for a few hours. She hoped that Kasumi would bring some books for her to pass the time.

Then the spoon in her left hand dropped, clanging annoyingly with the plate. She stared at the spoon and then at her left hand, holding both with a hard gaze.

She needed to relearn her coordination with her left hand. It was going to be difficult she predicted and she was actually looking forward to this new way of life. It would be something good to occupy herself with too. She hoped it wouldn't be too hard.

She picked up the spoon and continued eating. It felt a little awkward. She could only scoop up a small portion of rice at a time – her hand was shaking and she didn't want to drop her food. She wasn't even halfway finished when her dish turned cold. Frustrated, she forced it down anyway.

* * *

Next morning came and after quick evaluations were made by the staff taking care of her, Akane was left to herself. She still had that phantom limb feeling, sometimes unconsciously moving her right arm to do things. She had been asked about how she felt about losing her arm but her answer was always "I'm okay" – an honest response really.

A rubber ball was left for her to train her grip. Quickly it got boring but she continued anyway, building strength in her less dominant arm. Akane felt healthy enough to walk about a little but just around the room. She stared out the window and saw that she was about 3-storeys up. The hospital was situated within the town center, judging from the business of the street. It was a strange place to be in compared to the usual placid clinic of Dr. Tofu. She kept wondering how her family came here since there were so many of them and they had no cars.

The door to her room opened and startled her. She turned to see who it was and was surprised to find someone who she figured less likely to visit her on the first day since she woke up.

"Ukyo?!" Akane said.

Ukyo in reaction placed a hand on her hip.

"You sound surprised," she said, raising an eyebrow.

"I am," Akane walked back to her bed. "Wouldn't have expected you to come first."

"Well, you should be grateful that someone did," Ukyo replied with a tinge of annoyance. Akane paused, realizing how offending she sounded.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to –"

"Just kidding hun," Ukyo laughed, waving her hand a little and walked over to her. Akane then noticed that her former rival had a package with her.

"Here, I made an okonomiyaki for you," Ukyo said, offering the package. Akane was a little stunned but took it anyway.

"Thanks, that's nice of you," she said, feeling a little more at ease now. Akane sat down on the bed and placed the package on the mobile personal dinner table. She tugged at the string and daintily opened the package. It was very much fresh and hot as steam suddenly burst out the moment she unwrapped it.

"Hungry huh?" Ukyo asked teasingly.

"I didn't have breakfast this morning so yeah," Akane replied, trying to get a hold of the provided chopsticks but she couldn't get her fingers right on them. Ukyo, only then remembering Akane's current situation, took away those sticks.

"Sorry, I forgot," she said a little frantically. "I'll go find a fork or something," she added, quickly getting up to go and ask for one. It wasn't long before Akane got her fork to enjoy her little gift. She was on it right away.

"Mmm, this is good," Akane praised.

"Glad you like it," Ukyo said, pulling up a chair. She watched as Akane ate her treat.

"It … It was Ranma's favorite," Ukyo added. Akane stopped at that and looked at Ukyo. She was distant, occupied by memories of Ranma most likely. Akane waited in case Ukyo wanted to continue.

"Every time he entered the diner, it'd be the same one," she said, smiling a little. "I didn't even need to wait for his order. I would always just quickly whip it up and serve it right to him."

'Why did she make this for me?' Akane thought, staring at the pancake.

"It was the first recipe I mastered and it was the one Ranma first tasted back when we were kids. I remember working so hard to get it right, giving multiple samples to Ranma. I lost count of how many times he spat out the failed ones. I was disappointed with each failure but I worked on to improve myself."

She paused. Akane could see Ukyo's eyes were starting to water.

"It must mean a lot to you," Akane said. Ukyo smiled and kept on staring at the okonomiyaki.

"I remember that feeling of achievement when he finally said that it was good. It was an amazing feeling, even as a kid – to make someone else satisfied and happy. I guess that's partly how I got my passion. I wanted to impress him more."

Ukyo paused and took a deep breath.

"After he and his father left us, all I could do to occupy myself was to keep on cooking and trying different recipes. It wasn't too long before I started forming my own. I remember feeling so angry at Ranma for leaving us. And for years I wandered around. All that time I was thinking of vengeance. But deep down, I could never truly hate him."

Ukyo looked away, knowing that she couldn't hold back her tears any longer.

"He's frustrating sometimes but I …" Ukyo's words came out in sad chokes. She shut her eyes as a last attempt to not cry. She tried so hard to compose herself that she was visibly shaking.

"Oh God, I miss him," she said shakily. She couldn't hold it together anymore and cried silently. For some time, it was like she was alone in the room. She forgot about her surroundings and who was with her. It took Akane's gentle touch to bring her back into the hospital room. Quickly Ukyo wiped away her tears and breathed slowly to calm herself.

Akane then cut a portion of her okonomiyaki, stuck it to her fork and held it close to Ukyo's face. Ukyo noticed the gesture and looked up at Akane giving her a small, comforting smile and she felt warm. She looked into Akane's eyes that reflected the despair in her own, but there was also a light of serenity and hope. Ukyo was reminded that she wasn't alone. Everyone who knew Ranma would have definitely been affected by his departing. Having experienced the same tragedy, Ukyo could feel that they'd help each other out in getting through this rough stage, regardless whether they're friends or enemies.

Ukyo let Akane feed the little piece of okonomiyaki to her.

Something then suddenly echoed within the two girls and they somehow felt it in each other. With that small kind gesture, the remaining animosity they felt towards each other vanished. Jealousy disappeared and was replaced with care. Past events were forgiven and trust began to form. A light of hope within them grew; the hope of a new, close friendship.

Ukyo smiled at Akane, a smile she reserved for Ranma, the one real friend she had. It felt good to know that they could come to terms with each other. Honestly, the two were tired of being at each other's throats. Things felt like they could be better from now on. And neither of them had even said anything.

"Everything will be alright," Akane said. "We'll be alright."

Hearing that coming from Akane was comforting. Ukyo was able to smile more confidently now. They would go through this hand-in-hand she knew.

The air was now light enough that they were able to share their man's favorite okonomiyaki.

"I have to ask, why'd you bring me this particular okonomiyaki?" Akane asked.

"I thought you'd ask," Ukyo replied. She thought of her words and then smiled when she had them.

"It's a symbol of the person we both knew and loved. Something we have in common. To start off something new you know … and it's also an apology pancake." Ukyo laughed at the last bit.

Akane was taken aback by Ukyo's response – touched even – that all she could do was smile.

"Thank you … It's a delicious apology," she said. The two girls laughed, genuinely for the first time together.

"How tough is it to be using your left hand?" Ukyo asked once they had finished.

"Very, but I'm slowly getting used to it," Akane replied. "There're a lot of things I need to relearn with my left hand, writing especially."

"That'd take some time."

"It'd be interesting though, to learn to do everything again differently."

"I'm impressed Akane. You're taking your condition so well."

"I try to look at things in a more positive way. I wouldn't hurt myself that way right?"

Ukyo nodded.

"If I were you, I'd be in real desperation. It would be very difficult to continue as a chef with just an arm," Ukyo said, looking at her hands. "Suddenly I feel more grateful for perfectly having two of them," she added. Akane smiled at that.

"That's great!" she said. "See, most of the time we'd overlook the things that we have. We only realize and appreciate their value when they're gone," Akane added, sounding a little sad at the end. Ukyo somehow knew she wasn't talking about her arm.

"Yeah," Ukyo tried to smile.

"Speaking of you, how's your business doing?" Akane asked. Ukyo sighed as she thought up her words.

"It hasn't been easy. Still trying to adjust to things you know."

"I understand. Sorry."

"It's alright."

Ukyo then looked down at her hands and her expression returned sorrowful.

"Just so you know, we buried him yesterday morning, before we came here … at his family grounds. Everyone was there."

"Oh," Akane responded meekly. "I wish I had been there."

"If you'd like … we could go visit once you're out," Ukyo offered, quite awkwardly.

"Y-Yeah, that'd be nice. Thanks Ukyo," Akane said, smiling. Ukyo smiled in return. Silence again as the two girls tried finding words to carry on.

"On that night … you two had one last look at each other," Ukyo said slowly. "The look in your eyes and in Ranma's … There was something powerful with that last connection."

"Yeah," Akane said.

"What was it you felt?"

Akane looked away, trying to think and recall what happened.

"I don't know really. I could just … feel him."

Ukyo looked up at Akane. "Do you wonder about what he was thinking at that moment?" she asked.

Akane stared forward, not meeting Ukyo's gaze. She brought back that image and physicalized the moment. She met Ranma's eyes one more time, remembering how it felt. That short eternity was so clear in her mind and she was engrossed in it deeply. When she snapped out of it, it felt strange to find that only seconds had passed.

"I'm wondering as much as you are," Akane responded. She was quiet momentarily and then she added.

"I know one thing though …" Ukyo listened attentively. "… He had already accepted his fate. That's what I saw in his eyes that night," Akane finished. Ukyo looked disheartened.

"No regrets?" Ukyo asked.

"I'm not sure," Akane replied. Ukyo turned away, looking like she was about to break down again but then a sad smile cracked across her face.

"I think, at the end, he was satisfied," she said. "He … He's done what he's wanted."

The way Ukyo had said it made Akane feel that she was implying something underneath. But before she could ask further, Ukyo made a move to leave.

"Well, I guess I'd better be heading back now. Need to earn a living," she said. She then gave Akane a hug – one that the other girl hadn't expected.

"Thank you, Akane," Ukyo whispered with a smile. She held the girl for quite a while before releasing her.

"See you later," she said as she retreated to the door.

"See you," Akane replied. Ukyo's words still echoed within the room but it was still too vague for her to figure out the meaning behind them.

It was the only time Ukyo visited her, so asking the girl what she meant was not possible, not until she got out at least. During her seven days of recovery her family persistently visited with Nabiki coming over after classes. Her friends would also sometimes come along.

Aside from Ukyo, Akane would remember Genma and Nodoka's visit. It had been awkward, to say the least. For a few minutes – that seemed like forever – they didn't speak to one another after the customary trading of "How are you doing?" "I'm okay".

Akane was fiddling her fingers, glancing occasionally at Nodoka who seemed distant. Genma had been leaning against the wall watching the two. Unable to cope with the tension, he let out a small cough, breaking the stillness of the air.

"I'm going to get a drink," he said. "You want any, dear?"

"Yes, thank you," Nodoka replied.

"Akane?" Genma asked.

"No, I'm fine, thanks," Akane answered.

Genma turned and slipped out of the room, relieved to have escaped the uncomfortable atmosphere. Plus, he felt the two needed time alone.

Nodoka looked back at Akane and gave her a soft smile.

"You seem to be learning to use your left hand well," she said.

Akane had expected that comment. It was sort of the compulsory matter to talk about with her. To be honest it was annoying her but she wouldn't want to show it, not to this person.

"It's still a little tricky but I'm getting the hang of it."

"I'm sure in no time you'd be able to go about with your daily routines as before."

Akane looked back at Nodoka, nodding with an awkward smile.

"I'm sorry for asking but how are you dealing with things Mrs. Saotome?" Akane asked.

Nodoka didn't answer straight away but Akane waited for her to pick her words.

"Things are definitely different," Nodoka replied.

Nodoka was hunching forward in her seat beside Akane. Akane could virtually feel the despair seeping out of the broken woman. But she didn't dare to open her mouth to say anything.

"I've lost my son again," Nodoka started again after some time of silence. "But this time it's not the same as before. When he had first been taken away for 10 years, I was in total despair and disarray. I didn't know whether he was alive or not but then I still had hope that he was okay somewhere. And I guess that's what kept me going. After some time I grew tired of waiting and decided on searching for him."

Nodoka then smiled.

"I remember being so happy to have finally found him. All that time of sorrow and being alone simply vanished the moment I saw Ranma. For the first time in so many years, I felt my son's embrace again."

Nodoka's eyes were tearing up and so was Akane's.

"Oh I wish I had held him one more time. I wish I had told him I loved him so much one more time." Nodoka paused, inhaling sharply to hold her tears. She straightened up and looked to her side. She tried to hold it in but her lips trembled.

"It's not like he's missing for 10 years like before. It's not like there's hope to see him again. I don't have to pray for his safety every day anymore or pray that I'd meet him again." Nodoka paused again. "Ranma's gone."

Those words hit her and Akane hard, crumpling their hearts like paper. Akane was remaining strong as a respect for her would-have-been mother-in-law but Nodoka's armor was chipping off. Akane carefully twisted herself and slowly got off the bed. She knelt before Nodoka and gently pulled the woman into a hug. The comforting gesture broke off Nodoka's last layer of defense and she let loose her pained tears. Akane gently rubbed Nodoka's back to help soothe her. They stayed like that for a while until Nodoka let out all that she needed to. Akane glanced at the door and saw Genma peeking in. He decided to enter but only pushed the door open wide enough so that he stood within the gap.

"Mrs. Saotome, I can't imagine what it's like to lose a son," Akane said. "But I know what it's like to lose someone you love and it's never easy to move on from it. Dad took it the worst when mom passed on and it was quite a long time before he could let it sink in. But he was never the same after that. And us sisters, we had to support each other. We were very young but somehow we managed to pull through. I guess it's thanks to Kasumi – always looking out for the rest of us."

Nodoka had stopped crying now. Akane awkwardly chuckled a little.

"I'm sorry. I don't know why I'm –"

"It's okay, I understand Akane," Nodoka said, breaking the hug and holding Akane at arm's length. "Thank you," Nodoka smiled. "You're a strong young woman Akane. I'm sure you'll take this far better than me." Akane couldn't help but smile.

Seeing that they were beginning to lighten up, Genma walked in. He went over to the two, carrying a cup of water in each hand.

"Here, freshen up," he said, handing Akane and Nodoka each a cup. They thanked Genma and downed the cups' contents.

"Wasn't there something you wanted to give Akane, dear?" Genma asked. At that Nodoka's eyes lit up.

"Oh right!" she said as she searched the folds of her kimono. Akane inhaled sharply when the woman pulled out a small gift-wrapped box. She froze as Nodoka daintily removed the paper wrap.

"Ranma told me what happened back at Jusenkyo. Every single thing," she began. "He wanted to talk about many things with you he said."

"_There were so many things I always wanted to tell you."_

"Among many things, he admitted that he can't imagine a life without you, your family and everyone around him, friends and rivals included," Nodoka said, finally done with revealing the little gift – a small, square velvet box.

"He wondered what life would've been like if the marriage had been successful," Nodoka finished, handing over the box to Akane.

Akane was still speechless as she stared at the box. For a moment she suspected it was another box of pills like before. But somehow she was sure that it wasn't. Even so, she didn't open it. Nodoka then chuckled, bringing Akane to attention.

"He borrowed some of my money to buy it," she said. "I said that if he chose it himself, it would mean much more."

"_He's done what he's wanted."_

"Is that what she meant?" Akane quietly said.

"Hm?"

"Eh, nothing," Akane shook her head. She then closed her hand around the box. "Thank you," she said, smiling.

"Would there be anyone else coming today?" Nodoka changed the subject.

"Well, dad and the rest have been coming every day," Akane said. She looked over at the wall clock. "They should be here in a few minutes."

"Oh, well, we shouldn't be getting in the way then," Nodoka said, tapping Genma's hand.

"No, it's perfectly okay if you want to stay," Akane insisted.

"It's alright Akane."

Akane felt the sorrow in the woman's voice, even though Nodoka was hiding it behind a smile. She backed away and nodded. She then stood up just as Nodoka did.

"Do come visit us when you're out," Nodoka said. "Bring your family along. We could have dinner together."

Akane smiled and nodded.

"Okay, sure," she said.

The seven days passed by like a breeze and Akane was glad of that. She was beginning to run out of things to do other than strengthening her left arm. The doctor had confirmed that she was now well enough to go home.

"Oh, great! I'll come right over to get you," Kasumi had said.

"Eh! But it's a long way from home!" Akane exclaimed.

"It'll only be a few minutes by taxi."

"I can get on one myself."

"No, no, it's better to have someone along with you. Maybe I'll get Ukyo."

It was a little annoying to have a big sister like that. Like a fussy mother or worry-wart grandparents. But you can't possibly get mad at them. She just cared, Akane told herself.

"Alright," Akane gave in. "See you at home."

"Ok then."

Akane replaced the phone on its holster and went to pack her clothes in a backpack they had brought her. She walked out of her room, thanked the staff and walked down the hallway to the elevator. Akane got off at the ground floor and went to wait near the entrance. She had been to the lobby a number of times during her stay, not that it had anything really. Most of the time the large space was empty but the staff kept on working with their highest efficiencies. It wouldn't be nice to have the hospital's name tarnished.

It wasn't long before a taxi pulled up and out came Ukyo. Akane went over to her.

"Hey," Ukyo greeted simply. "Your sis wanted me to get you."

"Yeah, I know. Thanks."

"No problem."

They got in the taxi and Akane instructed the driver to head for her home. The two settled themselves in the back seat but neither opened a conversation. They were both leaning away from each other, resting their arms at the door. As the silence went on longer, the impulse to start a conversation was dying. But then, Ukyo was the first to break the ice.

"Say, would you continue going to school, given your current condition?"

Akane turned to look at Ukyo.

"Sorry if that was offensive. Never meant to," Ukyo quickly said.

"No, no it's okay," Akane waved it off. "Hm, I guess things would be different now but I think I can handle being at school with one arm less."

"You lost an arm, Miss?" the driver suddenly asked.

"Yes," Akane awkwardly answered.

"An accident?"

Akane thought of her words. Despite Nerima being used to strange things, what happened was a bit more unusual and much more tragic too.

"Sort of like that," she said instead.

"I'm sorry to hear that," the driver said. He went on when no one said anything.

"I have a brother who lost both his legs. He was a construction worker. Something went wrong one day and one of those heavy pillars fell and crushed his legs. He had been conscious the entire time. Can't imagine the pain he felt. He was sent to the hospital and almost immediately they decided to cut both of them off. He's been on the wheelchair ever since."

"How's it been for him?" Akane asked.

"For a while he was depressed. But he couldn't work again. He had a family, a small one. They had been living quite alright with his job. The wife worked too. But since then, they've been struggling day-to-day. His wife's quit her old job and now works as a part-time maid. They're lucky that the family is willing to help."

The Tendo home then came to view, large and majestic. The size of the house and its land made it sort of an icon in the area. It's become quite a known landmark among the citizens of Nerima.

"But you Miss … you have a nice place to stay and a warm family no doubt. And you must be a strong woman yourself, being a daughter of a martial artist."

The driver paused as he stopped the car.

"I'm sorry I got a little carried away. I wasn't trying to lecture you or offend you. What I want to say is that you shouldn't let things like this bring you down. You still have many things of value and should cherish. Really I hope that this experience has made you stronger. And stay happy yeah!"

Akane felt a little embarrassed to have a total stranger suddenly giving her life lessons but she had to admit she felt better after that.

"Thank you, Mister," was all Akane could say.

"Oh, no," the driver said when Akane was turning to get some money out of her bag. "You don't need to pay."

"B-But –"

"It's alright," he assured.

"I'll pay for it Akane," Ukyo offered. "Don't worry about it."

Akane was stunned. She saw both their faces having reassuring smiles. They were sincere and whatever she said would be of no use. She nodded a little and then awkwardly got out of the car. She thanked both Ukyo and the driver and the taxi went off. Akane turned to see Kasumi outside coming to greet her.

"I'm home," Akane said cheerily.

"Welcome back," Kasumi replied, rather distractedly though. "Where's Ukyo? I invited her to stay a while for dinner."

"You did? She didn't mention that," Akane said, turning to see the taxi just turning into a corner.

"I wonder if everything's all right with her," Kasumi said. Akane stared at her. She had always been the type who cared for others, whether family or not. And it was justifiable anyway. Recalling her conversation with Ukyo at the hospital, Akane knew that she was taking it hard as well. But she wasn't sure of how to help her with it. She had to try though.

"I'll go and see her one of these days," Akane said to Kasumi. "I'll try to make things better for her."

"That's nice of you Akane. I really hope she'll be okay."

"I hope so too."

"Let's head back inside now," Kasumi said, grabbing Akane's backpack off her. The younger sister wanted to resist but then she remembered what the taxi driver had said. She just smiled in gratitude.

* * *

It was the first morning since Akane got out of the hospital. It was a Wednesday which meant classes were going on as usual. But all the talk about being able to adjust to the changes sounded awfully hypocritical. Things _have_ changed and it wasn't going to be easy to go through them.

"Akane?" Kasumi called out softly from the other side of her bedroom door. The door then opened slowly and Kasumi slipped in.

"Will you be going to school today?" she asked.

Akane remained on her bed, not wanting to get up. In fact she felt like staying there the whole day.

She looked at Kasumi and then shifted her gaze to the ceiling. She sighed softly.

"I don't feel like it today. Maybe tomorrow," Akane said. Kasumi nodded in response.

"Okay, but you still need to get up. You've had enough of being in bed don't you?" Kasumi said jokingly and left the room.

At that Akane remembered how terribly boring it was to have nothing to do other than staring at the ceiling all day, playing with a rubber ball, practising writing, swinging a stick and a few other things. Okay it hadn't been really that boring – at first that is. She didn't want to lie around like a heap of clothes waiting to be picked up for washing.

Akane then jumped out of her bed and took a change of clothes. She then noticed the little box given to her by Ranma's mother. Akane stared at it for a long time, contemplating on whether to open it or not. She put down her clothes and reached for the box. Her thumb went over the box, slowly and gently caressing it as if trying to feel what was inside. She began to open it but then quickly she pulled her thumb away. Hurriedly Akane picked up her clothes and went downstairs to have her morning bath. She bumped into Nabiki at the end of the stairs who was already in her school uniform.

"You going to school?" she asked. Akane shook her head.

"Maybe tomorrow."

But Akane never went to school tomorrow. In fact she only returned to school two weeks after. When they asked, she only gave the same reason that she 'didn't feel like it'. She never wanted to tell what the problem was and no one wanted to force it out of her. She'd come around eventually they said.

During the week she stayed at home, an unexpected guest followed Nabiki back to see her. Akane remembered that Friday well.

"How are you Akane Tendo?" Tatewaki Kuno asked.

The two were alone at the dining table, sitting facing one another at the far ends. He had made himself comfortable in the house as if he was a regular visitor. To Akane's further aggravation, Kasumi was treating him like another normal guest.

But he had been uncharacteristically docile instead of throwing himself all over her. She couldn't resist wanting to know what was going on.

"I'm okay," she replied.

"You have distanced yourself from school for so long now. The days felt empty without your presence."

"I was admitted to the hospital, as you can clearly see from the missing arm."

Kuno seemed unreactive to that fact.

"Your sister has told me what happened," he said. His tone changed. He sounded sane – and that scared Akane.

"And it seems his hold on you still remains despite his parting," he went on. "This moment of grief shall pass I assure you."

This was way too creepy. His words still hinted his insanity but the stillness of his voice sort of shook Akane.

"That spark in you has disappeared. I wish to see the person I've given my heart to."

"I never took your heart Kuno," Akane said coldly. "And you don't have to worry. I am just fine."

"Very well," he simply said. Kuno's demeanor was confusing Akane.

"Is that all you came here for?" Akane asked.

"Not quite. I was hoping that you would accompany me to visit Ranma Saotome's resting place," Kuno answered. Akane gawked at him. "I've learned that you haven't visited him yet. It would do us both good to go together."

"I can't!"

Akane's outburst startled Kuno but it was only brief, quickly replaced by a look of genuine concern.

"I can't," Akane repeated, this time calmer. She avoided looking at Kuno. "I don't know where it is."

Kuno kept quiet, looking into Akane's eyes.

"I understand," Kuno finally said. "Can you at least tell me where his parents might be?"

"Why are you doing this? I don't understand. You saw him as an arch rival," Akane said.

"I'm a man of honor and that requires me to respect others around me including my enemies."

Akane hadn't expected that. Suddenly she felt rude treating him the way she was right now. Sure he talked about honor but Akane always dismissed it as his delusions. She never thought he was serious about it.

"I'm sorry," Akane said, for once embarrassed of what she said to him. "I can do that, at least."

"Thank you," Kuno said and stood up to leave. Akane followed him to the door. "Give my thanks to your sister as well."

"Yeah, I will," Akane replied.

"Would you return to school any time soon?" Kuno asked.

Akane gave it a brief thought and then smiled.

"Yeah. Thank you," she said. Kuno nodded slightly.

"I'll be off," he said and turned to leave.

Kasumi then came up to Akane who remained transfixed at where she stood.

"That was … strange," Akane said, barely audible to Kasumi.

"Well, in these changing times, maybe a person as troublesome as he would be affected," her sister said.

Kasumi went to retrieve the empty cup and proceeded to the kitchen, leaving Akane alone to her thoughts. What Kasumi said was true – that something as big as this would have an effect on people. Even if there were rivalries, they'd still feel the impact of such a loss. A strong distaste between individuals sometimes did not mean they wanted death for the other.

Akane realized that it wasn't just her or Ukyo or Kuno or Ranma's parents that's been affected by this sinister twist. Everyone who knew him was in no doubt shaken.

What bothered her though was that she still wasn't reacting the way she expected to and because of that, she began doubting her feelings for him. Those thoughts scared her but she tried remembering the reasons she fell for him. Just so that she could convince herself that it had been real. It felt like a war now due to this uncertainty.

* * *

School was in fact harder when you're left with only an arm that lacked the abilities of the more dominant one. It wasn't only hard to follow the lessons with a slower hand. People tend to flock all over when they see something out of the ordinary. They bombarded Akane with all the questions that she'd already heard back in the hospital.

Annoyed as she was, she still answered every question but with simple short responses. It had been good that they weren't just annoying her though. They had been genuinely concerned and offered her various things from lending over their notes to coming over to her place for revisions. She was indeed flattered but there was no need to do so much for her she said.

When everyone was seated during lessons, she'd constantly glance at the empty seat beside her. She realized, in the many days since then, she finally found the gaping hole in her heart. It was beginning to suck her in and she was feeling that cold darkness creeping. But it would not be pretty to suddenly break down in the middle of class. Akane shook her head to get rid of those thoughts and focused on the teacher.

Her thoughts still bothered her though for the rest of the day. And it was only Monday. Who knew how much longer it would need to be like this. Nearly everything she did triggered memories of her and Ranma.

As she walked back home she can't help picture Ranma walking on the fence lining the canal. She could hear his taunting voice, how he would always speak to her. She wished he had talked to her more nicely like when he said she was cute with short hair. She wanted to believe that he had been honest then.

Somehow though, she wouldn't wish for their conversations to be any different. They would be funny sometimes although she would end up furious in the end. At the end of the day she'd laugh about it – or sometimes cry about it. It's what made their relationship came to life. It wasn't the kind she'd hear in stories or read in novels. It had been real.

Now it was gone and all that was left were memories.

She took in deeper breaths to compose herself and continued on home.

Akane was now more helpful at home, particularly assisting Kasumi with every possible thing including kitchen duty. She still had very little time at the stove and potentially dangerous objects but she could manage preparing ingredients for Kasumi – with careful discretion of course.

"I'm home!" Akane called. She took off her shoes and put them away to be replaced with her slippers. As she climbed the stairs more memories flashed in her mind. So much that she thought she'd faint right there. She hurriedly made her way to her room but the images kept on coming. Akane squeezed her eyes shut but that only made the images clearer. Her heart was beating fast and tears began welling up in her eyes.

"Aaah!" she let out an agitated growl. The images stopped as if afraid to annoy her further.

"Maybe a little workout would be nice," she said to herself.

She changed her clothes to those more appropriate for an exercise and went downstairs for the dojo. Right at the entrance of the dojo she froze. She recalled her last spar with Ranma, one that had really been a spar.

Akane took a deep breath and entered the dojo. Quiet as it had been every time she entered but this time it was different. She could hear the breathing of two people training with one another. Her eyes moved as if following the motions. She herself started to flow with the movements in the memories of her sparring.

She felt something again and what happened before materialized in her mind. Not when she had sparred with him for real but way back when he had first came as a girl. It felt so strong that she wondered if she was actually dreaming. Then her memories went on to show her the fights they would get into. It always started with an argument that most of the time he initiated. In the end he'd let her beat him to a pulp.

Then she remembered all the trouble they'd get into with other more powerful individuals. For that, most of the time she'd be the cause of it whether directly or indirectly. Ranma would then end up fighting – even nearing death – just for her.

Akane was beginning to lose focus and her movements got weaker. She stopped abruptly. Those memories were in perfect detail now and she was trying so hard to suppress them. She hugged herself and squeezed her side as if in pain. Slowly her breathing came back to normal. Her eyes and nose were watery but she blinked and sniffed them away.

Figuring she had enough of training, Akane went back inside to have a bath. By this time, she was afraid of having another onslaught of memories. But she can't leave herself all sweaty and uncomfortable so she forced herself to freshen up.

In the warm furo Akane sank herself up to just below her nose. That made her focus on being calm in breathing. But after a while her wall broke and failed to block the memories that came with the water. Quickly thousands of images of Ranma changing forms whizzed across her eyes. Oddly though, the few milliseconds were enough for her to see all the details of the past.

She sunk herself further, submerging her entire body in the water. With all her might she let out a long scream that would've deafened the house. The water however was a good cushion for her voice. When she nearly ran out of energy she quickly brought her head back up.

'That was good,' she thought as she caught her breath again.

She was beginning to worry though. Was she losing her mind? Everything was coming in too fast and she's not able to handle them all at once. She was beginning to shiver. One look at her and strangers would have mistaken her for going through a withdrawal. She sat for a while until her shaking died down and got out of the furo. After putting on some fresh clothes, Akane walked into the kitchen to find Kasumi preparing dinner.

"Oh, Akane could you help me with stirring today?" Kasumi said as if knowing she had been there all along.

"Okay, sure," Akane said, walking over to the pot already on the stove. She held the wooden spoon and started to slowly stir the contents of the pot while Kasumi tended to the frying wok.

Another wave of memories came. Akane remembered the time when Ranma's mother came and helped to cook while Kasumi was bedridden. It had been a total mess that day. Quickly it had transformed from what was supposed to be preparations of a nice meal into a full-blown heated competition of who could cook better. It had always surprised Akane how Ranma was able to cook much better than her. Heck, he was as good as Kasumi sometimes. It agitated Akane to no end that she had lost to a boy.

It annoyed her further that Ranma was better at almost everything she could do as well. In fact it felt like she had nothing to boast about at all. What's worse was that he'd taunt her because of that. She felt so inferior to him but she wasn't the type of person who'd leave it at that. She'd fight back.

But all that time of teasing actually opened her eyes to look at herself. She began seeing her flaws that she'd been blind to. Without her realizing, she began to improve herself. Initially it was to make Ranma eat his words but later on she was consciously trying to get better for her own sake. She wondered what he would've said to her.

"Akane, is something wrong?" Kasumi asked. Only then Akane realized that her hand was noticeably shaking. Immediately she gripped the wooden spoon tighter in hopes to stabilize her hand. But Kasumi had already noticed and was nearing her carefully.

"Akane?" Kasumi called again.

Her soft, caring voice sent shivers throughout her body and she didn't know why. She's heard it a lot of times before and she's felt that concern countless times before.

Kasumi gently touched Akane's shoulder but it only made Akane shake more violently.

Thousands of memories began pouring in. A messed up mix of images and voices of the person Akane loved the most.

"I … I can't –," Akane choked.

Her lips began to tremble. Her vision became blurred by her tears. Her hand let go of the spoon and reached across for Kasumi's hand on her shoulder.

"I can't –"

Akane's knees suddenly felt weak and they buckled. Kasumi quickly caught her little sister and they both slowly descended to their knees. She pulled Akane close to her and tightly embraced her. The girl in her arms finally let go of her tears. But they were not just tears of sorrow. Kasumi could feel anguish, hopelessness, broken all mixed in a large painful bundle. Akane's heart had been keeping her tears away for too long, unable to accept reality until now. In all her life, never had Kasumi felt such a heartbreaking cry that threatened to break her into pieces as well. Kasumi's lips were trembling and tears fell from her eyes as she listened to her little sister's extremely painful cries.

"It's okay," Kasumi said in between tears. "It's okay." Akane could not stop. Kasumi felt herself becoming more overwhelmed as the time passed. But she needed to remain strong. Her little sister was falling apart in front of her and she needed to be strong.

"I'm so sorry Akane," she whispered. "I'm so sorry."

* * *

It was a quiet night and well-past her bed time but Akane was wide awake on the roof, overlooking the Nerima Ward. She was astounded that a lot could happen in just one day. Letting it all out felt really good and relieved her from a burden she never knew she carried. But then she still needed time to recover as it had been like her heart being torn open.

She didn't think that it would've taken her this long to accept the fact that Ranma was gone forever. It had been hard to utter those words herself. She had only been able to listen to other people saying it. But now she was slowly beginning to accept it all and although it did make her feel sad, it at least lessened the stress on her.

Akane kept on playing with the little box in her hand. She had opened and closed it numerous times since she came up to her room. Every time she looked at it, it brought her back to that supposed wedding day. Akane opened the box and looked at the ring again. It was a simple silver ring that had quite a weight on it. Inscribed on the inner side were the words "Uncute Tomboy". Instead of being furious she found it funny and had pretty much accepted that as the nickname he gave her.

'Can't believe I actually miss him calling me that,' she thought.

"Akane?"

She heard Nabiki call her out but she didn't respond as her sister reached the top of the ladder.

"Planning to go to sleep any time soon?" Nabiki asked.

"Just give me a few more minutes," Akane replied.

"Well then, can I join you up there?"

Akane didn't answer but looked at Nabiki quizzically. She shifted over anyway, leaving some space for her sister. Nabiki pulled herself up onto the roof and joined Akane under the vast clear night sky.

"It's a nice night. The stars are all out," Nabiki said.

"Yeah," Akane said.

"How're you feeling?"

"Mm, better."

"What have you got there?"

"Here, look."

Akane handed over the opened box to Nabiki. Both had their eyes on the little object.

"Must've cost him quite a sum," Nabiki said.

"His mother gave it to me on his behalf. I never knew he had it," Akane said.

"Hey, why don't you put it on," Nabiki said. Akane looked stunned by her sister's suggestion. "Here, give me your hand." At the same time Nabiki pulled the ring out of the box.

Akane didn't exactly give her hand though as Nabiki pulled her instead. She then slipped the ring onto Akane's ring finger.

"Will you marry me?" Nabiki asked.

"Ah! Nabiki!" Akane yelled, disgusted but amused at the same time. The two girls laughed.

"Fits perfectly," Nabiki said. Akane nodded as she eyed the silver on her finger.

"What do you think I should do now Nabiki?" Akane sighed.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, I realized that my whole life was centered on Ranma. Admittedly, I never anticipated a life without him. Now that he's gone, I've lost … well, a reason to live on. I've been thrown into a life without him. I try to act like how it was before he came along but I can't remember that life anymore. And I doubt it could be the same as it had been then."

"You're not contemplating on killing yourself are you?" Nabiki asked. Akane gave a short laugh.

"No," she shook her head.

"Although, it won't kill you from this height," Nabiki said, peeking over the edge of the roof at the ground.

Akane laughed again.

"Nabiki!" she said. Akane looked back at the ring. "I just don't know how I should lead my life now. I know I have to move on but I don't know where to start or where to go."

Nabiki stared at Akane. It was very rare to have her little sister open up to her on matters such as this. She liked it. Although it made her feel responsible for the things she was about to say, she felt like she didn't need to be the insensitive, cash-freak girl. Now she could be someone whom Akane could confide in without needing to hold back. Nabiki felt like Akane's sister again.

"You know … when mom died," Nabiki began. "Our whole family seemed like it would break apart. Mom had been the central part of everyone's lives. When she left, everyone was in disarray. Dad quit the dojo and we lost our most important income source. We're now only living on our savings and the money he gets for being in the town council. I began venturing into money-making and took on being the mediator for all those competition bets. Not a very good way to get money I know but it's how I began. I do actually have something legitimate but I won't tell you what.

Kasumi took mom's place and tended to the household chores and stuff. Really she had been a lifesaver. She'd been the one to bring us all out of that depressed state we were in after mom went. Looking back at it now, I can't fathom how she herself managed to live through that. She found her strength somehow and pulled us all with her out of our misery.

Dad didn't completely recover but he's better now. He's still much of a crybaby and had almost left his role as a father. But he still loves us and sticks around for as much as he can. He may not be perfect but at least he's not like those who leave their child, never to be seen again."

Nabiki paused.

"Sometimes it takes a calamity for us to see what kind of role we've been given. You see your responsibility in a time when it seems most bleak. It doesn't happen to most people. But I feel that's what Kasumi saw. That's what I saw. That … even though you're as damaged as the next person, if you're able to do something to get them out of there, you have to do it. If that person is in the same situation as you are and if you have the strength to keep going, it's your responsibility to bring them along as well.

This is a very tough time Akane and I know I can't understand how painful it is for you. No one feels it more than you. No one understands better than you. And I think that maybe –"

"It's my responsibility, to help everyone who's damaged by this," Akane said. "To help those in the same situation as I am."

Nabiki smiled.

"I'm not saying that you have to but it's something that you can do," she said. "It won't be easy to heal this Akane."

"Yeah," Akane said. "Thank you Nabiki."

"No problem," Nabiki replied. "Don't be up too long now." She gave a pat on Akane's shoulder and left the roof, leaving Akane on her own again.

'But then, Nabiki … I may not be able to heal the pain at all. But I can prevent it from happening again. That's what I can do. Ryoga, Mousse, Shampoo, Mr. Saotome … they all have people who love them. And I won't let them feel the same way as I do now.'

Akane inhaled deeply the cool night air. She found herself smiling as she could see her life's path again. This was something she could do. It didn't matter that she was deformed. She knew what others didn't know about the curse and it was her responsibility to finish what Ranma couldn't. It was a burden she knew she could handle.

Akane stood up, looking strong as ever.

"I'll go to Jusenkyo and I'll find the cure," she said.

* * *

Present day …

The ferry finally arrived at the port of Osaka two days after it had left Shanghai. Once it was docked and secured, its doors opened to let the people out. Many of the passengers were international tourists coming in to visit Japan. But a particular passenger was returning home after nearly a year researching for a cure in the mountains of China.

'It feels nice to be in Japan again,' Akane thought.

But she wouldn't be staying for long. The cure wasn't transportable so she needed to bring everyone to China instead. Akane hoped that it wouldn't be too much of a burden for them but concerning the trouble they're in, she figured they would definitely make the trip to Japan.

With a determination as strong as when she started, Akane gripped the straps of her large backpack and walked off heading for Nerima.

* * *

Well! That was something huh? I hope you guys enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. Frankly it was quite tough to get this chapter right. I still sort of feel that more could've been done. But this was the best I could come up with and I guess it'll just stick to this. I'll be working on the next chapter immediately and I'll upload it here as fast as I can. I'm aiming to get it up before 2012 ends.

So, hope you liked it. It would be nice if you gave some feedback. I'll see you guys in the next chapter.


	9. P2: Ryoga Hibiki

Newest chapter is up! Honestly this one was a bit rushed towards the end because it was behind schedule (surprisingly this had an actual deadline I tried conforming to). So forgive me if the chapter's a little shaky. The reason I rushed it up was because yesterday (January 18, 2013) this story turned two years old! It really shouldn't have been that long but I'm happy that you've still kept interest in this story. It means a lot so thank you.

This one's shorter than the previous two chapters - back to my usual length but it doesn't mean my quality has declined … hopefully. I hope you'll enjoy this one.

* * *

**The Curse of Jusenkyo**

Part 2

Ryoga Hibiki

There were close to thirty people around a large tombstone. They were all the ones who had been close to the young boy that went away so prematurely. There were whispers of "what a tragedy" and "he had a whole life ahead of him" among those who came. But it had been quiet most of the time.

Slowly then, the visitors faded and disappeared into thin air one-by-one until only Ukyo was left staring at the grave. Ryoga then came up to her side, his eyes on the name carved in the stone.

"I wonder what had been going through their minds at that time," Ukyo began. She was speaking loud enough for only Ryoga to hear. "I can't imagine how devastated his parents were to have lost their only child. Even Genma, I'd bet, was affected. And the Tendos … they were so close that they were practically a family."

She then laughed a little.

"His friends must've felt the loss too. I mean, no more girl-Ranma to ogle on," she said.

Ryoga was not as amused as Ukyo though. He only looked at her with sympathy.

"What about you?" he asked.

"Me?" she still stared at the grave. "It's been …"

She turned to look at Ryoga.

"I-It's been tough," she said, nodding at her words. Her eyes went back to the grave. "It's just …"

Ryoga was still searching in Ukyo to find what it was she wanted to say. But it was difficult since she was being hard, not on him, but to herself. She's keeping the pain inside, probably ever since that day.

"You know, sometimes I wish I was a guy," Ukyo said. She averted her eyes to Ryoga. "I'd feel less pain that way." She found her words humorous, letting out a small awkward laugh.

"You shouldn't hold it in like this," Ryoga said.

Ukyo shrugged at his words.

"I know."

Silence fell upon them and they just let the soft wind blew past them. It was calming but also carried a melancholy feel to it. Ryoga then looked back at Ukyo and found himself staring at her. Such a pretty face emanating a heavy sadness.

"That's not very true though," Ryoga replied. "What you said about guys."

Ukyo looked at him but said nothing.

"Don't get me wrong, I do despise him. But I can't deny that his passing affected me."

"In what way?" Ukyo asked after a few seconds' pause.

Ryoga then glanced at his rival's tomb and thought of when he had come here a few days after Ranma's death.

He stood there immovable for the past twenty minutes. His eyes were fixed on the grave but his mind was far away. He wasn't even feeling the strain on his back from his large bag or how his legs had begun to ache.

It was hard to admit but Ranma had been the central part of his life. The incident at Jusenkyo that made him cursed. The numerous humiliations Ranma had done to him. The countless times Ranma bested him. Ryoga could always pull those things back from the past to justify his anger towards Ranma. It was strange that he liked feeling that way. He found comfort in being depressed, angry and alone.

But Ryoga knew he couldn't fool himself for too long. He grew tired of being so down. His rage towards Ranma was dwindling. It was why he tried to leave Nerima behind forever. He doubted he could actually move on but staying away was a start. Those dark emotions occurred lesser. He found it frustrating that he for some reason felt the idea of moving on unappealing. A part of him wanted to stay the way he was – to live with how things are. But he had decided that he would struggle to move on.

Ranma's parting was both hard and easy for him at that point. It was hard since a significant part of his life – a life of exacting vengeance – was now gone. It was easy in a sense that his rival's death shook him back to the reality he should've been reaching for.

He couldn't help seeing this as the beginning point of his happiness. Ironically, it made him feel guilty to find solace in such a loss.

Instead of finding himself on a different road though, Ryoga felt he had been plunged into darkness where he'd need to start again and find a new path on his own. The problem was he barely had any hint of where he should go – what he should do. Rather than finding himself free, he was more at a loss than before.

"Jerk … even till the end."

Ryoga heaved a long sigh and gripped the straps of his backpack before turning to walk away. He had decided on a general route anywhere away from Nerima. But he figured he'd make one last stop before he went on.

Soon he reached the town. He had dismissed the idea of going to see Akane, feeling that he had destroyed any possibilities of a relationship with the revelation of his curse. He wanted to blame Ranma initially but he knew inevitably that the truth would be revealed one way or another.

So instead, Ryoga decided on visiting his home for one last time. Despite his inability in finding his way and lack of attention to his surroundings, he could always identify his home. Maybe it was the key he always held.

His house came to view as he entered the quiet street it was situated in. And as he hoped, Shirokuro ran out to him. It was amazing how she could sense him from quite a distance.

"Hey girl," Ryoga said as he knelt down for Shirokuro to leap into his arms, followed closely by Shirokuro's grown pups.

"Wow, look at all of you," he said, letting them get all over him. He then got up and let the dogs bring him back home. Ryoga went past the gates and reached his front door. He was surprised to find it unlocked. There were no signs of a break in though and the dogs hadn't been frantic at all.

"Hello?" he called as he slipped inside. Ryoga replaced his walking shoes with slippers and laid down his backpack near the door. Just as he straightened himself, a woman came to the front door.

They froze and caught each other's eyes. It was amazing that despite the years parting them, they were still able to recognize one another.

"Mom?"

His mother drew a shaky breath and smiled.

"W-Welcome home, Ryoga."

Ryoga hurriedly walked to her and embraced his mother.

"I'm home," he said happily.

"Ow, ow. Ryoga … you're … crushing me."

"Oh sorry."

Bashfully he pulled himself away from his mother, standing at arm's length.

"You've grown so much Ryoga."

"It's been quite some years mom."

"Well, that's our curse for you," his mother laughed. "Oh, you must be hungry. I was just about to order some ramen."

"Uh, sure," Ryoga said.

He walked over to the living room and sat on the couch. It sure felt like it had been forever since he last came here. His mother must have been away for a long time too. It would explain the need to order ramen due to the lack of still edible food in the house.

His mother was at the phone ordering their ramen. Ryoga took the time to gaze around. The house was in good order and looked exactly as it had as he remembered. Though, it looked like there had been some cleaning done. The many trinkets on the shelves had been rearranged and dusted. The carpet looked like it had been recently vacuumed and the floor was absolutely spotless.

"When did you reach home mom?" Ryoga asked as his mother came to sit with him.

"A few days ago actually," she replied. "Oh! Which reminds me! Some time ago I met your father."

"Wow, really? How's dad doing?"

"He's fine, don't worry. But what's important is that he's found a way to cure our directional problem."

"What?! No way!" Ryoga's eyes were wide open.

"You better believe it. But he said he needed to make sure that it'd work and not have any harmful side effects."

An alarm rang in Ryoga's head.

"Wait, does it have to do with magic?" he asked.

"Magic?" his mother looked at him quizzically. "I'm not quite sure of the details but I trust your father would make sure everything's alright."

Ryoga remained skeptical but didn't show it to his mother. Instead, he nodded slightly and said "Okay."

"If your father's able to cure himself and return without getting lost along the way, then it should be safe," his mother added.

"I guess yeah."

"Well, enough about me. Tell me Ryoga, how have you been living with this curse?"

For a second Ryoga had thought she'd meant his Jusenkyo curse. But then, maybe it was fine to tell her about it. Maybe he could tell her everything.

"I guess I'll start from the beginning," he said and he went on to tell about his grudge on Ranma, Jusenkyo, Akane and all the people he had met and fought. All the time his mother listened attentively but occasionally she'd interrupt with gasps of disbelief and shock.

"Don't you think you're being a little too harsh on Ranma?" his mother asked.

"I guess I have been," Ryoga said, smiling guiltily.

"So how is he now?"

Ryoga suddenly felt the air of the room change and his expression immediately turned sour. He looked away from his mother and stared at his clasped hands. His mother looked at him with concern but she didn't say anything and waited for him to speak.

After some time Ryoga raised his head but still avoided his mother's gaze.

"He … he died, mom. A few days ago," he said, meeting his mother's eyes.

His mother hadn't reacted as surprised as he'd expected. Only a sad frown and a small gasp escaped her lips.

"I'm sorry to hear that," she said softly. "What happened?"

"He drowned … and we couldn't save him," Ryoga replied. There was no need to further explain. He wouldn't want to describe the nightmarish scene to his mother. Let it only be known to those who had been there that night.

"How are you managing?"

"I … I don't know mom," Ryoga replied, sounding hopeless.

"Aw honey, come here," his mother said, pulling him into a comforting hug. His mother then let him go and sat beside him.

"I don't understand though," Ryoga began. "He's not even a friend and yet I feel so lost. It's like he took my spirit along with him to the grave."

Ryoga paused and suddenly he remembered their last duel. A duel that saw no winners.

"I guess he'd finally won … and I can't ever get him back for it."

He then chuckled bitterly.

"I never knew losing a rival would affect me this much."

Before his mother could say anything, the doorbell rang. The two perked up and Ryoga hurriedly went to answer the door. The delivery came at a perfect time. It was beginning to feel a little too grim, even for him.

He opened the door and was surprised to find Mousse with the food delivery.

"You live here Ryoga?" Mousse asked, equally surprised.

"Y-Yeah."

"I thought you had disappeared," Mousse said. He shook his head a little and then handed over the two packs of ramen. "Here."

"Thanks," Ryoga said. He stuck his hand into his pocket and brought out an exact change for the delivery.

"Oh, no. It's alright," Mousse said, waving his hand and accentuated that by stepping back and down one step.

"But –"

"It's fine, don't worry about it."

Ryoga looked at Mousse doubtingly but he looked honest. Then he remembered that Shampoo also worked with Mousse at the Cat Café.

"How's Shampoo?"

At the mention of Shampoo, Mousse tensed up and looked disheartened. He was reluctant to answer but then he just shook his head. He said nothing else and walked away to his bicycle and walked off. Ryoga watched as Mousse cycled off and then he slowly retreated into his house. He turned to give the packs of ramen to his mother.

"I'll go get some bowls," she said.

He noticed that she sounded a little gloomy, making him felt guilty for causing the downcast mood. Ryoga remained at the door and then Shirokuro slowly came to join him. She nudged his leg which made him smile a little. His mother came back out with two bowls full of ramen. He went over to the dining table as his mother set the bowls on it. Soon they began to eat. They were both silent. Only the clatter of chopsticks and occasional slurps entertained the dining table.

"Maybe he's not just a rival," his mother finally said.

Ryoga didn't look up but he did slow down.

"Maybe it's sort of a love-hate relationship. Deep down, I think you see him as your friend. That's why you're feeling lost and empty."

Ryoga stopped eating but still avoided his mother's eyes.

"He may be my only real friend," he said, barely audible.

His mother smiled.

"That can't be. What about all the people around you? You see, through Ranma you were able to meet more kinds of people. If it weren't for him, you may have continued wandering around alone with no one you could hold dear. If it weren't for him you probably wouldn't have known Akane. Along the journey of pursuing this rivalry, you've made new friends."

Ryoga looked at his mother.

"Just like you Ryoga they knew Ranma and they're probably going through the same thing as you are."

He thought of Shampoo, Akane and Ukyo. He thought of the Tendos and Ranma's family.

"All of you have gone through something terrible and have to help each other in handling this. You're not alone Ryoga and they're not alone too. Because all of you have each other."

Ryoga nodded slightly and smiled. His mother's smiled broadened. He felt better now.

"Thanks mom," he said.

Later that night Ryoga lay awake on his bed. He had forgotten how a soft, warm bed felt like. The feel of a pillow tucked under his head almost felt alien to him. In fact it almost seemed too comfortable for him.

But it wasn't why he was still awake. His mother's words made him think of everyone who had witnessed that night. He tried putting himself in each of their shoes, imagining how they were doing.

Genma must be feeling like a wreck now as he remembers what he had put Ranma through. And his mother who had been mostly out of his life would've taken it the worst. The Tendos would have definitely felt the loss too since they no doubt shared many memories with him. Ukyo, Ranma's childhood friend and supposed fiancée and Shampoo who's bound to him by an Amazonian contract; they would have that deep wound as well. Akane was the last person he thought about as he still felt dirty about his Jusenkyo curse.

Just as he began to think about her, Ryoga remembered what Ranma said to him that night.

"_Promise me you'll take care of her."_

Suddenly he felt his mind clear of dark thoughts. He felt like the shadows had lifted themselves. He could see a path laid out before him.

Ryoga knew what he had to do.

The next morning, Ryoga explained to his mother about his promise to Ranma and his desire to fulfill it. It may not be a purpose that would drive him forever but it was something he could hold on to until he truly found himself. Even if Akane was beyond his reach, at least he would honor Ranma by making sure she was alright.

So after he packed his things Ryoga went out and began nearly a month's journey to find Akane's house. He was surprised to find out that Akane had left. He asked the family but they wouldn't reveal where she went.

"Akane said it was for the best," Kasumi had said. "I'm sorry Ryoga."

"I understand," he replied, a little disappointed but relieved as he wouldn't be confronting her so soon. "Thank you."

"Ever since then I had been travelling around, wondering where she had gone to. I wanted to find her but I still felt scared to see her. It was a constant battle between fulfilling that vow and doing her good by staying away. A part of me actually hoped that I'd never see her again."

"But then, you promised Ranma," Ukyo added to his sentence.

"Right," Ryoga said.

They were now on their way back. They were able to get on a bus but it would still take them about an hour's journey to reach home. All the while Ukyo remained an avid listener and occasionally made some comments on what Ryoga said. It was comforting to listen to the people going through similar experiences. It made Ukyo feel like she had a place – a strong footing in these times.

Ryoga chuckled, catching Ukyo's attention.

"Even though he's gone now, he still has an effect on us huh," he said.

"I think what you're doing for him is noble even if it may cause you pain. That's what friends are, you know. Honoring one another," Ukyo said, giving her companion a smile. Ryoga smiled in response.

"It's kind of hard to accept … that he of all people could be a friend," he said.

"Hm, who knows? Maybe he thought of you the same way," Ukyo said. Her smile shrank until it was barely visible. "He trusted you with Akane after all … the one he loved."

Ryoga noticed the strain in her voice at that last bit. Suddenly he was brought back to that night at the moment when the painful truth took place in front of his eyes. Any slim hope he had completely vanished and a wave of despair struck him with full force.

Ranma and Akane were meant for each other and nothing could ever change that.

It had been hard to accept that reality but Ryoga knew that fighting it would have been futile. He could imagine Ukyo feeling the same way too.

The rest of the journey was quiet. Even though they were sitting next to each other, they occupied themselves differently. Ukyo had the window seat so she tried enjoying the sights. Ryoga could only look around at the immediate passengers around him. But the two weren't at all focused on whatever they were looking at.

The bus stopped at a stand within the town center which was the closest to Ukyo's restaurant. A few other passengers got off along with Ryoga and Ukyo and then went their separate ways.

"Hey, wanna get something to eat?" Ukyo asked.

"Sure," Ryoga replied.

"Let's head for one of those stalls and order for something to take home."

"Can't you just cook us something?"

"There's virtually nothing at home and I doubt you'd be satisfied with just okonomiyaki."

Ryoga paused and considered her words.

"Alright then."

"Come on," she said, getting a hold of his hand by the wrist.

"I can walk myself." Despite saying that, Ryoga still let his hand be pulled by Ukyo. It was embarrassing to be led around like a child by a girl.

"No, no. Remember earlier – the countless times you took a sudden turn?"

Ryoga glared at Ukyo, not that she noticed. She had a point though so he let her guide him to one of the many stalls nearby. They chose one and ordered some light lunch to take away and sat at a nearby table to wait.

"How's everyone else doing?" Ryoga asked solemnly.

Ukyo glanced at Ryoga.

"Last I heard the Tendos were doing alright. Things have gotten a little dull though but they've been managing. His parents … they're taking it pretty well too."

"How about Shampoo?"

Ukyo inhaled deeply.

"The café's still around but she left. But I haven't been in contact with them for so long. I don't know what else happened."

Ryoga nodded in acknowledgement. Ukyo then shifted in her seat and her expression lightened, catching Ryoga's attention.

"Hey, you have a girl don't you? What was her name again?"

"A-Akari," Ryoga answered, a little taken aback by her question.

"Yeah, Akari! How is she?" Ukyo asked, looking genuinely interested.

"She … she's good," Ryoga answered, rather dismissively.

"Is that all?" Ukyo raised an eyebrow.

Ryoga sighed which made Ukyo suddenly regret asking.

"I rarely stay in one place for a long time, remember? So she doesn't know much of me nor do I know much about her. And I keep disappearing unexpectedly. I know she understands but I don't think she's taking this too well."

Ryoga looked down at his clasped hands resting on the table.

"I don't know how much more she can take."

Ukyo was hastily thinking of something to cheer the guy up. Then she remembered the story Ryoga had told her earlier.

"But your parents … won't they be coming up with the cure for your directional curse?" she said. She was relieved when Ryoga smiled and looked up at her.

"It'd make things better I'm sure but they'd have to be quick," he said. "I'm just … worried that it would be too late."

"Have faith in your parents will you," Ukyo lightly scolded. Ryoga laughed lightly.

"Right," he said.

Just then their orders were done. Ukyo went to pay for them and took the packs. She then handed one over to Ryoga and gripped his free wrist. The two walked back to the restaurant.

"I'm gonna go upstairs for a while," Ukyo said upon entering. "Lock the door once you close it."

"Alright," Ryoga complied. He gently shut the door and turned the locking knob counter-clockwise. He turned to see Ukyo already going for the stairs. He decided to have something to drink. Ryoga left their packed food on the counter and then passed through the curtains covering the way to the kitchen in the back. He opened the refrigerator and searched for some cold water. He poured himself a glass and quickly gulped the water down before drinking another one. He then replaced the jug of water into the refrigerator. He noticed it was rather empty, not something he figured he'd see in a restaurant. It was closed today anyway but Ukyo would still need to stock up for tomorrow.

Ryoga came out of the kitchen and decided to ask Ukyo about it. Relieved that he didn't take a sudden turn, Ryoga found the stairs and went up. He reached the upper floor and saw one of the three doors along the hallway was open. It wasn't Ukyo's room though as hers was right next to the one he was staying in. The opened door was directly opposite of Ukyo's.

Quietly he walked to the unlocked room and peered inside. There he saw Ukyo sitting in the middle of the room facing away from him. For a long while he waited but Ukyo remained where she was. Softly, Ryoga knocked on the door but it didn't get her attention.

"Ukyo?"

"Huh?" she perked up. She awkwardly stood up and looked a little frantic as she turned to face him. "Ryoga!" she exclaimed.

"Is everything alright?" Ryoga asked, concerned for the girl before him.

"Y-Yeah, don't worry about me," Ukyo replied. It didn't convince Ryoga though as her eyes were trying to look elsewhere. "I was just … cleaning up this room a little."

"I see …"

"Umm, we should go eat," Ukyo said, changing the subject.

"Okay." Ryoga felt disappointed to have dropped the matter but it seemed that she wasn't going to open up to him. He hoped it wouldn't remain that way for too long. As Ukyo walked to the door Ryoga stepped aside to give her space to pass through. She descended the stairs while Ryoga remained at the door, looking around the empty room as if expecting it to reveal something. He exited the room and closed the door.

Ryoga joined Ukyo at one of the tables. Throughout their lunch they were quiet. Ukyo only had her eyes on her food but Ryoga kept on glancing at her in concern. She was hiding something but judging from how she seemed currently, it wasn't the right time to ask her about it.

Before, he would never be thinking of others. He'd be too preoccupied with his thoughts. If it wasn't about exacting vengeance on Ranma or imagining about Akane or Akari, then he'd sink himself into grimacing at his bad fortune.

Things have changed for him now and it had only been a year since that fateful day. He owed his mother for that and the months of travelling around. It gave him time to think and find a better state of mind to position himself in. Now he wanted to be of use to the people around him as much as he can, especially those who are still trying to get back up. Because he was still trying too.

"Ukyo."

He had to let her know of that even if she wasn't ready to open up to him yet.

"I want to tell you that I'm here and would always be ready to listen," he said.

The two remained frozen for a few awkward seconds. Ukyo's cheeks were flushed and her eyes quickly avoided Ryoga's. Ryoga having realized what he had said reddened as well. He turned his gaze back to his food and didn't look up at Ukyo again.

"T-Thanks," Ukyo said, still finding his uncharacteristic words shocking.

They went on eating without another word to each other. Ukyo finished first and quickly she got up. As she did, Ryoga finished his and held out his plate to Ukyo. All the while, the two tried avoiding each other's eyes. Ryoga watched as Ukyo took the plates to the back kitchen. He remained at his chair, rocking himself back and forth by pushing at the table with his foot. He was still worried about Ukyo and how she kept her thoughts to herself. He hoped she'd open up to soon to someone, even if it wasn't him.

Just then there was a knock on the door. Ryoga got up to answer. He opened the door to find a young woman heaving a large backpack. She looked to have been on the road for quite some time evident from her slightly dirty black shirt. Other than her iconic bluish hair, what made the young woman stand out was her missing right arm. It was the first thing Ryoga noticed about her since the right sleeve of her shirt had been cut and tied all the way up to her upper arm. And of course he could never forget her sparkling eyes, her smooth skin and her bright smile.

"Ryoga?!" she said ecstatically. She literally jumped at him and gave him a gripping hug. It felt strange though as usually you'd feel two arms encircling you.

"A-Akane," Ryoga managed to say despite the total shock.

She let him go and backed up. Ryoga remained frozen in his place.

"I'm back," Akane said, still beaming but calmer now.

It took a few seconds for Ryoga to register what she had said.

"Back? Back from where?" he asked.

Just then Ukyo came over and peeked over Ryoga's shoulder. She too was surprised to see Akane at the door but instead of stiffening up she harshly brushed past Ryoga and lunged for Akane, almost toppling her.

"Akane!" she yelped with joy.

It was Akane's turn to be surprised but then she sank into the hug. They held each other tightly for a while, swaying a little for emphasis and then broke away.

"I've missed you guys," Akane said.

"I've missed you too Akane," Ukyo replied, still flushing.

"Y-Yeah, same here," Ryoga said. The two girls noticed the tinge of nerves in his tone but said nothing of it.

"Hey, come in!" Ukyo said, virtually dragging the other girl inside. "So, where've you been?" she asked, half scolding.

"We'll get to that but first I need to break the news," Akane responded quickly, excited about something.

Ryoga closed the door and slowly came over to the two girls.

"I've found a way to cure Jusenkyo's curse."

* * *

And we're done! I intended to put up two chapters at once since it's this story's 2nd birthday but as I've said I was behind schedule. I'm glad this one's done though. I hope it wasn't disappointing because when it came to Ryoga, things got difficult (even though I'm a guy … huh). Hope it was nice! Stay tuned for the next chapter!


	10. P2: The Valley of a Thousand Springs

Here we are! And it hadn't been two months yet since the last update (heheh). Honestly though, this was a very tough chapter to write due to the background story. Thinking about the future chapters and a possible sequel/spin-off (I repeat, POSSIBLE) also slowed down this chapter's production. Nevertheless, it's done! I'm relieved!

Another frustrating thing was that I had to keep reminding myself that Akane had lost an arm; her right arm to be specific. I tend to forget about that while writing this chapter and I suspect maybe some of you might too. So, as a reminder, Akane only has her left arm alright (haha). Now, on with the story.

**The Curse of Jusenkyo**

Part 2

The Valley of a Thousand Springs

The words rang over and over in Ryoga's ears but he couldn't believe it. Akane had said it so unexpectedly that he even began doubting she had really come back. He started to fear that what he was seeing was just a trick of his mind, brought out by reminiscing the past and visiting Ranma's grave.

But her embrace had felt real. The light exchange they had felt real. Yet, the next few words she had uttered seemed so unbelievable.

"I've found a way to cure it," Akane repeated. Ryoga's doubts began to disappear as he forced himself to believe Akane. There was no way she would lie, not about something that important.

"Really?! That's great!" Ukyo said and then she looked at Ryoga. "Isn't that great?!" she said, excited for him. He on the other hand didn't seem so.

"Are you okay, Ryoga?" Akane asked.

He looked dazed but then shook his head once he realized the two looking concerned for him.

"Nothing, nothing. I'm just … It's just …"

"Um, didn't you hear? She found the cure," Ukyo said.

"Yeah, I heard. I'm surprised to hear that," Ryoga replied, trying to sound happy about it. "I don't know what to say." Akane only smiled as a response.

At her smile, Ryoga began to feel the old shivers and nerves again but he pressed them down hard so that they won't show.

"How'd you find it?" Ukyo asked, to Ryoga's relief.

"It took some thorough searching of Jusenkyo but I want to gather up everyone first before I explain further," Akane answered.

"Can I see it though?" Ryoga asked, still hiding his nerves.

"It's not movable unfortunately but don't worry. I'll explain everything later on."

"Well, let's get to rounding them up!" Ukyo said.

"You're pretty enthusiastic," Ryoga said.

"I'm just happy for you guys. Aren't you?"

"Yeah, I am."

"Very convincing."

"Alright, let's go get Shampoo and Mousse next," Akane said. At that, Ukyo's sudden exuberance instantly vanished and she seemed to literally deflate.

"Oh man," she whined.

"What?" Akane asked.

"Their café may not have been as successful as it used to but they're still my rivals," Ukyo replied with a distasteful tone. Then she sighed.

"But, yeah I know. They've been cursed too," she said.

Ryoga and Akane stared at Ukyo in reaction to her monologue.

"Talk about mood changes," Ryoga said. Ukyo glared at him.

"Let's just get on with it," she said, turning her gaze to Akane, her spirit suddenly back in place.

"Okay." Akane dragged the word a little, finding Ukyo's behavior funny. "Come on. We'll gather at my house."

The trio exited Ucchan's and walked towards the Nekohanten. It didn't take them long to reach the restaurant and just like Ucchan's, it was closed. Ukyo caught on the reason why but noted that she never saw Shampoo, Mousse or Cologne at the Saotome burial grounds. It was probably better that way as there were still ill-feelings between them.

Akane knocked on the door and let a few seconds pass before knocking again. She then heard a couple of slides and clicks before the door slid open.

"Hello, you three," Cologne greeted sweetly. "I assume you've recently returned from a long journey, Akane."

"Yes Cologne," Akane replied respectfully.

"What have you come here for?"

"I've found a way to cure Jusenkyo's curse."

Cologne was momentarily surprised but then she became wary.

"In all my years there has never been a discovery of the cure," she said.

"There is," Akane asserted. "I've been to Jusenkyo and I've learned of its lost history."

Cologne was impressed that this young girl had gone to such lengths to reverse a curse she didn't even have. Even though she was old, Cologne admitted that there were still matters out there eluding her knowledge so she still wished to hear about this hidden story of Jusenkyo.

"Come in first you three," Cologne said, holding the door open. Akane walked in, followed by Ukyo and Ryoga. "If what you say is true then tell me what you've found."

"I'd rather tell everyone at the same time. So if you don't mind, I'd like us all to gather at my house so that I can explain further," Akane said.

"Who is there that's left?" Cologne asked.

"Umm, Genma," Akane answered.

"Ah, right," Cologne blinked. "That foolish panda. Very well. It would be more efficient to have everyone gathered first."

"Who that?" Shampoo interjected, coming out from behind the curtains hiding the kitchen. She saw Akane and immediately frowned before looking away. Mousse then appeared from behind the curtains, joining everyone in the dining hall.

"Akane!" he said.

"Hey," she replied, smiling a little.

"As we are unoccupied today, let's head over to your house right now," Cologne said.

"Good," Akane nodded.

"Why we go to her house?" Shampoo asked, sounding spiteful. Cologne turned to face her great-granddaughter.

"She's returned from Jusenkyo with a way to cure your curses," she said.

"What's her problem?" Ukyo whispered at Akane. She expected at least a shrug from Akane but the girl remained still, trying to not look at Shampoo.

'Did something happen between these two?' Ukyo thought.

"That's great news!" Mousse said. "We should hurry!" he looked at Shampoo, surprisingly without mistaking anything as her. She huffed in response and looked away, only to find her sights resting on Akane again. Akane, as if sensing Shampoo's hard gaze, looked up and returned the stare with steel but fragile eyes. The exchange was intense between the two and everyone in the room could feel it.

"Fine," Shampoo quietly said, looking away.

No one said a word under the heavy air. Shampoo held her eyes against Akane again but without the hatred from before. Akane stared back but with sadness this time.

"We should get going," Ryoga suggested. He hoped to break the uncomfortable silence. At that everyone snapped back to reality and the gloom suddenly lifted.

"Right, let's go," Akane said.

The group now expanded from three to six walked down the road and towards the Tendo home. There was a faint nostalgia washing through each of them. After all, for nearly a year none of them had been to the once famous dojo. It was the very center of whatever that had happened to each of them in their personal recent history. There were countless memories, all stacked up in the house and none of them could ever be forgotten. Especially …

Akane's home came to view. She grew ecstatic and ran ahead. The rest were unprepared for her change of pace but rushed along and caught up with her at the main gate. Akane tried pushing the large gates open but they were locked. Frantically she slammed her fist on the gates. Akane then backed away, flicking her hand to shake the soreness off.

"I'm home!" she yelled excitedly.

Soon the gates opened, revealing Kasumi, with Nabiki and Soun closely behind. Akane beamed while her family froze on their feet. She closed the small gap quickly and virtually pounced on Kasumi.

"I'm home," Akane said again, clinging onto her sister's shoulder. Kasumi smiled and held her youngest sister tighter.

"Welcome home," she said. Nabiki then joined to embrace Akane but only for a while before Soun suddenly pulled Akane away into a strong hug.

"Oh, my Akane! You're alright!" he cried, torrential tears streaming down his face. Akane grimaced at the powerful grip her father had on her.

"Yes, daddy. I'm fine," she struggled to say. Soun then let her go and held her at arms' length. "I'm fine," Akane reassured.

"So, you found what you're looking for?" Nabiki asked. Akane looked over at her sister and nodded.

"Yes."

"I'm sure there's a lot to tell," Kasumi said. "Everyone, come in first."

"Oh, can you get Ra – … Mr. and Mrs. Saotome to come here right now please?" Akane said.

"Okay, sure."

The rest followed the Tendos into the house. They filled up the living room and waited for Genma and Nodoka to arrive. Kasumi, after contacting them, went into the kitchen to prepare refreshments for the guests.

Behind the blinds covering the kitchen, she began shaking. It was so bad that even settling the kettle on the stove was hard to do. Kasumi pulled her hand back and covered her trembling lips.

It was the first time since that day to see them all gathered in the same place.

The memories came in a rush and were overwhelming. Suddenly it felt like the old days again when everyone was together - back in the time when the gang would face all sorts of ridiculous events and perilous adventures. Then reality crashed down on her, saying that it was not and could never be the same again.

All sorts of emotions swirled in her chest that it threatened to burst. But she held it in long enough to retreat to a more private space where she could briefly let it out before masking herself again.

Soon everything was done and she took a few calming breaths before placing the tea and some leftover buns on a tray. She carried it out and set it on the table. Just as she did, she heard Nodoka calling from the front door.

"Kasumi!"

"They've arrived," Kasumi said and hurried to the door. Genma and Nodoka were brought in and were ushered to the table. Akane then stood up and walked over to Nodoka.

"Hi auntie," Akane said.

"Akane!" Nodoka said happily, pulling the girl into a hug. "It's been so long since I last saw you."

"Yeah," Akane nodded. She pulled away. "I've got news."

"Let's all hear it Akane," Cologne lightly demanded. Akane looked back at Cologne and nodded. Genma and Nodoka took their places at the table and Akane sat at the end of it, directly opposite of her father.

"Right. I'll begin with the origin of Jusenkyo," she said. Everyone leaned in to listen carefully. Akane took one look at everyone before continuing.

"I learned of its story from inside a hidden cave somewhere in the mountains around the valley. I only stumbled upon it after many months of being there."

* * *

Akane tried peering into the small cave but it was too dark to see anything. Luckily she brought with her a flashlight. She switched it on and shone it into the cave. She saw that the cave went deep inside the mountain as she couldn't see the end of it. Akane looked back at the valley below her, feeling as if she might not see it again. Bravely, she stepped into the cave, lowering her head a little as the ceiling was low.

She felt a little claustrophobic as the cave was only a few feet wider than her body as well as dark. She could only see as far as the beam of her flashlight went. She could hear the light echoes of her steps and was getting shivers from it. She had to consciously remind herself that she was alone in here.

Then her light shone on something on the floor. Slowly, she moved closer and froze when she realized that it was the bones of someone's foot. A sudden chill ran up her spine and she almost panicked. Quickly she caught herself and breathed slowly. She coughed though, finding the air tasting funny. It was inside a cave after all.

Akane moved her beam of light up along the person's foot, to the leg, the rest of the body and finally the head. Soon she didn't feel scared anymore, knowing that it was just a pile of bones now. She wondered though, what was this person doing deep in this cave.

'Was this person hiding from something?' she thought.

Akane began looking around the body. She looked around at the walls, thinking that maybe there were markings on it. Then she looked around the corpse, at the same time wondering where the person's clothes were. She felt like an archaeologist, searching for any information on past civilizations. A little silly, she felt. But then something on the floor brought out her curiosity. A package wrapped in cloth sat behind the person's remains. From the looks of it, this person was sitting against the cave wall, hiding the item behind him.

Gently, Akane pulled the item from behind the skeleton. There was a little weight to it but she couldn't tell what it was. She wondered if the person had wanted to give whatever it was inside to someone. Akane knelt down in front of the dead person and looked into its hollow eye sockets as if hoping for a response.

"If I may, I'd like to take this," Akane said.

She figured she should go back to the Jusenkyo guide and look at the item with him. Akane placed the package into her bag. She stared into the corpse's eyes again before walking away. She hurried back out of the cave and made her way down the mountain side back to the guide.

"Mr. Guide!" Akane called out as she entered the guide's office. "I found something in a cave at the farther end of the valley."

"What is it?" the guide asked.

Akane then laid down her bag and brought out the package.

"Hm, curious. Let's open it and see," the guide said.

Akane nodded and walked over to the guide's desk. Gently, Akane untied the knot of the string holding the item together and pulled the string away. The dirty brown cloth was folded neatly around the item inside. It must've been so long as the cloth felt stiff and was permanently bent according to the shape of the package.

The cloth came off, revealing a book, just slightly bigger than Akane's hand. It had no cover but the pages were intact. The book was held in place with a piece of string piercing through two holes at its longer side. Akane lightly ran her fingers on the front page and felt the crisp of the paper. She was careful to not put too much pressure on it, fearing it would suddenly disintegrate.

"This must be very, very old book. Probably thousands years," the guide said.

"Why do you say that?" Akane asked, looking up at him.

"The writings on it. I no recognize them. It may be ancient Chinese writing. I barely see resemblance with today's characters," he said.

Akane looked down at the book again. Carefully she turned the page. She was amazed that the pages were perfectly intact even after many centuries. And the person who wrote this had the characters written so clearly and sharp as if to ease someone else reading it.

"We need to find a way to translate this," Akane said. "Do you have any references that could help?"

"Let me see," the guide said walking over to the bookshelf near his desk. He ran his finger along the many books he had. He then pulled out one and flipped it open. He skimmed through the pages but then closed it and replaced the book. He searched for another book but again it wasn't helpful either.

"Maybe we get help from the Joketsuzoku," the guide said. "They may have more knowledge on this."

Akane hesitated at first but then remembered that she wasn't that accustomed to the springs. She knew nothing more about Jusenkyo than the curses themselves and that she had a pool of her own. All she was doing was to complete what Ranma would've done – to find the cure.

"Alright," Akane nodded.

The next day, the two went off to the Joketsuzoku village to search for someone who would know the language of the book. It would be even better if they could find a book to be used as reference. Akane and the guide stayed at the village for a couple of days but they found nothing. Not even the elders knew the language nor did they know of anything else about Jusenkyo but they did allow Akane to take back a few books to look through again.

She stayed up the night they returned from the village looking through the books. It was ridiculous since she didn't understand a single character and yet she was trying to find the meaning of the person's book. Nevertheless, she remained awake in the guest room the guide had placed her in with the lights on. It was already well into the night but Akane didn't want to check the time. It didn't matter to her anymore.

"It's late."

Akane jumped at the sudden unfamiliar voice coming from behind her. She didn't want to look but slowly she turned her head around. There was a man about her age wearing a long-sleeved light green top. It looked too big for him as he was rather skinny. His black pants were even baggier and a red cloth wrapped several times around his waist, securing the pants.

"H-How'd you get in?" Akane asked, already taking a stance with a stick in her hand.

"I can tell you what's written in that book."

Akane was still tense and held the man's gaze. It was strange that she could only faintly feel his presence and his voice seemed to echo around the room.

"Who are you?" Akane asked, calmer now. The man didn't answer which made Akane tense up again.

"I wrote it," he said. Akane frowned, confused at his words at first but then her eyes widened in realization.

"You're the man from that cave?" she asked.

"I'm from a people that existed thousands of years ago. We lived here, long before the curse was created."

"Curse? You mean, Jusenkyo?" Akane was shaking, both in excitement and anxiety. She then put down her stick, seeing that it wasn't needed.

"You know about Jusenkyo?" Akane asked again.

"First, I will tell you about my people."

"Is it important?"

"For you to understand."

"Okay then," Akane relented and sat back down. She wanted to offer the man a seat but he had already begun.

_Thousands of years ago, during a time where magic still existed widely, there lived a tribe of very peaceful people nestled in a valley hidden from the rest of the world. The valley they resided in was lush with greenery and wildlife and all that they needed to sustain themselves, like their own little garden of eden._

_People lived merrily and everyone was kind to one another. Children played around all day as their mothers watched out for them while chatting amongst themselves. The men went to work at the farms, hunting in the woods and foraging for useful items. Boys in their teen years tagged along with their fathers so that they too would grow up to be men._

_The village was kept in place by a council of sorcerers of not more than five. They looked after the villagers and often helped them in matters requiring magical interventions. _

_Only the council was able to wield magic. They forbade others to practice it, unless guided directly by the sorcerers themselves. _

_The council of sorcerers placed a specific rule upon the villagers and that no one was allowed to go through the South Eastern Pass, the only passage to the outside world. Anyone who left the valley was forbidden to ever return to the village._

_The sorcerers explained that it was for the village's own good and the people accepted that as part of their lives. Leaving did not even cross their minds. To turn away from this valley would mean to foolishly give up a heavenly life for something more. How greedy. So for many generations the tribe remained in their valley of wonders. _

_One day though, a small group of men from the outer world stumbled upon the village. They were lost and had been wandering close to the outskirts of the valley. Eventually, walking into the pass, they found the village. People quickly found out these men were from beyond the valley. The villagers panicked, not knowing how to handle such a thing. Some even pointed fingers at others for disclosing the village's location._

_Amidst the growing panic, the men were brought to face the council. The sorcerers debated and then eventually decided to have the men stay. It immediately caused uproar among the villagers. _

_The council hastily added a few conditions upon the newcomers. _

_They must never leave the village and they must abide by its rules or they would face dire consequences._

_The men agreed to those conditions but their obedience did not last long. Over time they began to take advantage of the peace in the village, refusing to cooperate or work. The people complained to the council and soon, the outsiders were brought to face the sorcerers again._

_The sorcerers this time were not so forgiving. They decided on a curse to be placed on these men._

_They travelled to a nearby valley – a valley littered with thousands of springs. The sorcerers cast powerful spells on the springs and threw in different animals into them. The men were then thrown into those cursed pools, transforming them into those animals but hot water would change them back, only temporarily though._

_Those men now served the council and each time they failed they would be locked in their cursed forms for as long as the sorcerers wished. It was some time before the men were considered to have atoned for their improper behaviors. But their curses remained, serving as reminders._

_The men, fearing the sorcerers, continued their lives in the village and even married the women there. They had families and were essentially a part of the society. But many of the villagers still viewed them as 'outsiders'. Initially they only treated the family differently but as generations follow, their hatred grew. People began doing terrible things to the families._

_None of this of course went unnoticed by the council. More and more people were given what was known now as the Jusenkyo Curse – named after the valley of a thousand springs of Jusenkyo. _

_The village was not the same as it had been long ago. It had evolved into quite a thriving town but was terribly wounded on the inside. People were corrupted by the evil growing within themselves. Not even the sorcerers escaped that fate._

_Among the sorcerers, one stood out as being a visionary but extreme as well. The sorcerer grew and became more powerful than the others. Eventually, he became such a strong influence in the council and changed their system so that there would be only one ruler. He placed himself on that seat and began a tyrannical reign._

_The people lived in fear under his harsh rule. Those who fell short were given a curse. Those who seemed to disobey suffered the same fate. Some even tried to escape the village but only to be caught and given a curse. _

_It came to a point where people started to rebel against the ruler. It started small but rapidly grew as the citizens took on the ideal. It wasn't long before word reached the dictator. To counter this, he passed a death penalty to those caught rebelling against him._

_But it was no ordinary penalty._

_The ruler cast a death curse on one pool and was later known as The Spring of Death. Those thrown into the spring will be cursed to die after a certain time determined by the caster. No one was able to escape that death curse unless it was removed by the Grand Sorcerer as he called himself. _

_And it was not a normal death. The sentenced, once his time was up, will die by drowning. There would be signs of the victim being unwillingly attracted to water as his time of death got closer. And no matter where he was, even in a desert, water would find him. The victim would then meet a horrible watery end._

Everyone had been listening intently to Akane's story up to that point when a sudden chill swept through each of them.

"The tribe began to fall," Akane continued after pausing a while. "Civil riots spread and the whole village rose against the Grand Sorcerer and his army he had built to defend himself. After so long, eventually the Grand Sorcerer's life was put to an end. But it was a pyrrhic victory for the rebels as only a handful survived and most of their lands were destroyed. They decided to leave the valley to start a new life somewhere in the outside world. No one's been back to the valley ever since."

"What a tragic story," Kasumi said breaking the pause that threatened to drag on.

"And what about the springs?" her father asked.

"The curse of the springs remained till this day," Akane answered.

"But Ranma fell in the Spring of Drowned Girl. Why did he …" Ryoga asked.

"Over time, Jusenkyo was hit by numerous floods," Akane said. "The positions of the springs would sometimes change and some would be mixed with each other, depending on each spring's magical energy. But the death curse was a powerful spell so it's virtually present in every spring. And the … expiration time if you will, can't be truly determined as the springs today have unpredictable levels of magic."

Everyone in the room paled, especially the ones with the curses as they realized what that meant.

"The cursed victims of Jusenkyo have their lives shortened and no one can ever truly know how much until the signs begin to show," Akane finished. The room fell into a tense silence, knowing there were members of the crowd heading towards a terrible, unforeseeable end.

"Guess there was something much more sinister to Jusenkyo," Ryoga said.

"Good news though, I've found a way to counteract this curse," Akane began again. Everyone returned their attention to her. She grabbed her backpack and pulled out a piece of folded paper. She revealed it to be a map of the thousand springs of Jusenkyo.

"Here," she said, placing her finger on the map. "At the edge of the valley. There's a spring with an entirely different spell cast upon it. And since it's located higher than the other springs, it remains untouched by the others."

"How did you know of its existence?" Cologne asked.

"From the man's book," Akane answered. "The man who appeared before me … he was a magician, secretly trained by one of the sorcerers during the period of tyranny. He recorded his progress in it as well as the information about this spring. It still exists and despite all the years the magic still works. I've gone there myself and tested it."

The mood began to lighten up as everyone learned that there was in fact a way out of this.

"I want to hurry up and bring you guys there," Akane continued. "Who knows how much time you have so I hope we could leave as soon as possible."

"She's right!" Ryoga said. "There's not a moment to lose!"

Mousse then stood up. "Let's leave right away!"

Everyone else began to grin and chatter excitedly. Even Shampoo who had a sour expression most of the time eased up and smiled a bit. Cologne had some questions though but she knew the honesty of the girl and was happy with Akane's explanation.

"I refuse!" Genma suddenly said. Everyone abruptly stopped and stared in confusion at the grown man sitting with his arms crossed in front of his chest, strengthening his hasty disagreement.

"For all we know, it could be just another dead end like the others," he added.

"B-But I went there myself. And I've tested the spring. It works!" Akane asserted.

"You most probably tested only on animals. What makes you think it'll work on us?"

"Genma!" Nodoka said but her husband's resolve didn't allow her warning to reach him.

Akane stared at the older man in the eye.

"You don't believe me?"

Genma didn't answer but just hung his head and closed his eyes.

"Consider it Akane, why was the book found in a cave, hidden behind a corpse's back? Don't you feel a little suspicious?"

"He lived during a very bad time. He was hiding from the tyrant."

"I wonder though, did such a time even existed? How do we know you're not just making up stories?" he said, looking sharply at Akane.

"Genma! Stop!" Nodoka said.

"Why would I? What could I possibly gain from that?" Akane said, raising her tone.

"Maybe it's the result of your grief. Maybe you just can't let go of what happened that you started becoming delusional, imagining some magician of the past saying things to you, creating a false hope that there is in fact a cure out there."

"There is! Why won't you believe me?!" Akane said, tears beginning to well up in her eyes.

"That's enough Genma!" Soun bellowed, instantly silencing the crowd. "How dare you speak to my daughter that way?! What's gotten into you?!"

"You're not making sense. Why would I lie?" Akane asked shakily, holding back her tears of hurt.

"Because of him," Genma finally said. Everyone gasped at Genma's words, shocked that he would say such things. Akane continued looking strong but then she looked down at her lap.

"What are you saying?" she said shakily. "Ranma's already gone. And no matter what I do, I can't bring him back."

Everyone looked at her with sympathy.

"But I know better than you," Akane continued, casting a sharp look at Genma. "He wanted to do the same. He wanted to find the cure. Sure it may be for himself at first but if he learned the truth then that would change. He would risk everything to not let what happened to Taro repeat itself. I wanted to realize what he couldn't do. I wanted to save you all as much as he would've wanted to save you."

She paused a while before adding.

"Ranma would've believed me."

The tense silence that followed dragged on but no one dared to speak. Genma then stood up and left the table without a single glance or word to anyone. He went to the front door and showed himself the way out with no hint of where he intended to go.

When he had gone everyone sighed in relief as the tension was now over. But the damage was done to Akane and they knew she had been deeply hurt. Nodoka was the first to walk over to Akane and sat down facing her.

"Akane," she began, lightly nudging the dejected girl to turn to her. Tears had begun to fall off her eyes. Akane turned to face Nodoka but didn't meet her eyes.

Nodoka went on. "Akane I'm sorry about what he said but I know he didn't mean any of it. It's just that … things have been very hard for him. He tries to hide it and not talk about it but I know deep inside he's hurting."

Akane sniffled and wiped her tears away. Her mouth opened but she couldn't say anything. Instead she just nodded her head a little.

Nodoka then cupped the girl's face and gently lifted it up so that they were looking at each other. With her thumbs she wiped away the remaining tears off Akane's face. The older woman then smiled.

"I believe in you Akane," she said. "And thank you. You risked yourself getting cursed so that you could save your friends and my husband. I don't think I could be grateful enough to you."

"Yeah Akane," Ryoga said, smiling as well. Akane looked at him. "Thank you."

"Thank you, Akane," Mousse said.

Her eyes then met Shampoo who gave her a small sad smile. She didn't say it out loud but Akane saw Shampoo mouthing 'thank you' to her. That made her smile and forced her tears to flow again. But quickly she wiped them away again. She looked at everyone and saw them all smiling at her. She couldn't help but mimic them.

"Thank you everyone," she said.

* * *

The sun was setting, indicating that he had been there for a long time now. The water flowing in the canal reflected the yellowish light of the sun and he marveled at how nice it looked. Despite sitting under the bridge for hours, he didn't find himself feeling lonely. He wanted to be alone.

Just then, he felt a presence behind him but he didn't react, knowing who it was.

"Genma," Soun said to the sitting man. When his friend didn't respond he went over and sat beside him. They sat in silence, listening to the water rushing by for a while.

"Look at that," Genma said. "Water. The very substance in which life originated is the same one that could bring about death. Gentle by nature but could turn harsh without us even noticing."

He chuckled sadly.

"Even life itself is ironic."

Soun looked at his friend, unsure of where he was trying to tell him. Genma then went on.

"I talk about letting go of what's happened. I talk about leaving the past behind and moving on. But that's just it. Just talk. The truth is I can't ever let it go."

"Genma, you can't do that to yourself," Soun said to his friend.

"No, you don't understand," Genma quickly cut him off. He sighed heavily. "I killed my own son."

Soun looked at his friend in surprise but wasn't able to say anything as Genma went on.

"I brought us to Jusenkyo without knowing well enough about it. I was only thinking of making him the 'man among men' and that was even to save my own skin."

He formed his hand into a fist.

"I've never did anything for him. I've always only thought of myself."

He slammed his fist on the ground, creating a small impact crater.

"And in the end, it killed him."

Moments passed before Soun spoke.

"It's not your fault Genma. You couldn't have known."

Genma smiled sadly and shook his head.

"There's no need for that Soun," he said. "My wife's had a hard time already convincing me of that. But I'm as stubborn as my son was and nothing you say will change my thoughts."

"I-I see," Soun said.

"But what I said back there," Genma continued. "I was way out of line. At the mention of Jusenkyo my anger welled up and before I knew it the words were already flying out of my mouth. I don't have any excuses for that."

"No, Genma, I understand," Soun said. "I understand it's been hard for you."

"But Akane didn't deserve those harsh words," Genma interrupted. He then looked at Soun. "You should be proud of her. Among us all, I think she's the only one who was strong enough to do something despite her traumatic loss. She went to such great lengths to hopefully bring an end to this curse while carrying the weight of those painful memories."

He averted his gaze back at the flowing water.

"I'm sorry for what I said."

"It's not me who you should be apologizing to," Soun replied. He then placed a hand on his depressed friend's shoulder.

"Come on, it's getting late," he said. "You're welcome to stay the night."

Genma looked at his friend, hesitating at his gesture. He smiled eventually and reluctantly replied,

"Thanks."

* * *

The sun had set and the sky had only little traces of its light but Akane remained at her place, staring at the koi pond of her house. Everyone had gone home hours ago except for Nodoka as she waited for her husband. Soun had gone out to look for him but Nodoka had gotten a little worried as they weren't back yet. The sisters assured her that it'll all be fine and that she just needed to wait a little while. To settle her worries, Nodoka offered to help Kasumi in the kitchen which the younger woman graciously accepted.

Akane had decided to sit at the outer hallway, facing the lawn. The sharp words she had been bombarded with still bothered her despite her trying to understand what Ranma's father was going through. She refused to talk about it to anyone, instead opting to isolate herself for a while to her own thoughts.

"Hey Akane," Nabiki then came, interrupting her webbed mind.

"Hey sis," Akane responded, giving a small smile. Nabiki walked over and sat beside her sister. "Say, how come you haven't left yet?"

"What do you mean?" Nabiki asked.

"Well, don't you plan on going to college or something?"

Nabiki smirked in response.

"I guess with current circumstances, I can't leave yet," she replied. "I'm not sure if daddy is ready to let go of all of us. It was painful enough for him when you left. I can't imagine what the rest of us leaving would do to him."

Akane took on a sad face.

"Hey, but what you did isn't bad," Nabiki quickly said. "He understood what kind of weight you were carrying and was proud you were willing to make such a decision. So don't look so sad now okay."

At that Akane smiled but it still had a gloomy feel to it.

"I wonder what it'll be like when this is over," Akane said, casting her glance back to the pond.

"Of course, things will go back to the way they were," Nabiki replied, smiling encouragingly. "Well, maybe not exactly but at least everything will go back to normal again."

Akane closed her eyes and smiled dreamily.

"Yeah," she sighed. She opened her eyes and smiled at her sister. "Thanks Nabiki."

Just then they heard someone coming through the front door and they stood up just as Soun and Genma came in. At the sight of Genma, Akane lowered her glance and stepped back a little. The older man sighed before he spoke.

"Akane, I want you to know that you didn't deserve those words I said. I had been so angry with myself for so long that it turned my emotions into a mess. My reaction was out of place and I regret that you had to be the victim of it. I'm sorry Akane."

Akane then looked up at Genma, meeting the old man's sad eyes. She recognized those eyes, seeing them before. The same sadness and self-loathing. She hadn't seen it back then but this time around she understood those eyes. The weight of guilt that threatened to crush him was very apparent, affirming that there were other people blaming themselves for what happened. She wouldn't dare to try and convince Genma otherwise because she carried that guilt as well.

"I know it would be hard for you to forgive me and I understand that," Genma went on. "But you've come this far bringing us all a solution and it would be a dishonor to not take this opportunity. It wouldn't matter if you couldn't forgive me but I will follow you back to Jusenkyo. I believe in you Akane."

Akane finally smiled and nodded.

"Alright then," she said, taking a deep breath. "We should leave in the morning. The quicker we get this done, the better."

"Very well then," Genma replied. "I would need to return home for a while to prepare."

"I'll alert the others then," Akane said.

Soun smiled, seeing that they were now on good terms. But knowing that Akane would be leaving again saddened him. Even though it wouldn't be for long, he felt he needed to make sure that he didn't waste this short time with his youngest daughter.

"Oh I just remembered!" Soun suddenly said. "We haven't properly celebrated your return, Akane."

Akane seemed distressed about the idea.

"Umm …"

"Let's call everyone back here!" Soun said excitedly. "We'll spend the night celebrating your return and success before you leave for the morning! In fact, all of you can spend the night here!"

"Uhh, I don't think that would be necessary," Akane said. Nabiki's hand on her shoulder then startled her.

"Come on Akane," she said. "It wouldn't hurt to have one great night here at home."

Akane looked back at her gleeful father and smiled. Even though a little reluctant, she could at least give one more happy night for her father to have with the whole family and their friends.

Everyone was called back to the Tendo house where a hasty but joyous party was held in celebration of Akane's return as well as a sending off party for those leaving in the morning. Soun and Genma drank furiously and although Nodoka was annoyed by that, she let it be for just this time. Ukyo was enjoying herself as well and would pull Ryoga in with her no matter how much he protested. She had decided that she would be following the group to Jusenkyo and wouldn't take 'no' for an answer. The Chinese amazons weren't shy to have some fun too except for Shampoo though who opted to be more subtle. Nabiki became a sort of moderator of things, making sure everyone was entertained while Kasumi, with the help of Nodoka, made sure their stomachs were delighted too.

Akane watched on, smiling and laughing along with everyone. It had been a while since she did. At that moment she felt completely at ease, forgetting all that had happened and joined the party.

* * *

There we are. I hope you all liked it. I was satisfied with this chapter but of course there may be some mistakes here and there which I've missed. I apologize for that. I have some questions here.

Do you think the dialogues are a little … strange? Seriously after looking them over a few times, I can't help feel they're kinda … weird.

Does Akane seem out of character here? In fact, all of them seem so. But I guess that's justified considering what they've been through. There are of course things needed to be cleared up and that'll be in the future chapters so stay tuned.

By the way, I'm kinda loving Akane in this chapter (uhh, self-praising much). No, really! I don't know about you guys though (haha).

Well, see you in the next chapter, not too far in the future.


	11. P2: Little Conversations

New chapter! And after more than a month. I hope it didn't feel too long for you guys. Just a quick update on the author; I've just recently started my degree program so things have been rather messy all around. Settling in took a while - longer than I had intended - but I'm glad I was able to put this up. The changes in the plot also slowed down the progress of the story. That's the messy details. Now, on with the story!

**The Curse of Jusenkyo**

Part 2

Little Conversations

The number of residents had suddenly increased for the night so they needed to sort out who would be sleeping in which room. The men, save for Soun, slept in the room Genma used to share with Ranma. Nodoka was invited to Kasumi's room. In the lower floor guest room were Shampoo and Cologne while Ukyo partnered with Akane.

Despite the following day's departure and the night's celebration, everyone turned in quite late. Some still found it difficult to sleep, their minds occupied about tomorrow.

The lights in the bottom room were still on as Shampoo searched through her backpack one last time. She was already in her pajamas and her eyes were getting heavy but her mind was still restless. Akane's decision to leave the next morning had been so sudden that she barely had time to properly think of what to carry along. Upon hearing from her great-grandmother that they were leaving tomorrow and invited to stay over at the Tendos, she instinctively went to start packing. She only hoped that whatever she had stuffed in the bag was adequate for the journey.

More importantly though, what kept her awake was the fact of leaving for Jusenkyo tomorrow. It was somewhat unfortunate that they hadn't been able to cure themselves the last time they were there. Of course everyone was busy with more important matters and Shampoo herself was under someone's control.

Now there was no crisis in Jusenkyo. No pressing matters aside from the curse itself. Despite all that Akane had said, Shampoo felt like tomorrow was nothing special. It'd be just another normal day. And yet here she was finalizing her items in the Tendo home.

Cologne on the other hand was getting ready for sleep but it wouldn't come to her just yet. She looked at Shampoo – whose back was facing her – rummaging through her bag. Remembering the day's events, she painfully reminded herself of a past action that she now felt guilty of.

"Shampoo."

The purple-haired girl looked over her shoulder. A total look of curiosity was on her face having noticed her great-grandmother's troubled tone.

"I'm sorry," the old woman said, shocking Shampoo. Cologne went on before Shampoo could interrupt. "It was my fault you were cursed. Back then I kept my emotions aside and assumed the total role of a matriarch instead of family. I had never thought of its possible consequences, especially one that would endanger your life. Even prior to knowing that, it still wasn't right to do such a thing. No other person in our village has done that as punishment. Most people would stay away from the springs and yet I forced you there."

"Y-You didn't know, great-grandmother," Shampoo interrupted, raising her voice a little in desperation. "None of us did," she added softly.

It was the first time Shampoo saw Cologne so dejected. In every situation the old woman was headstrong and carried the pride of a leader of her tribe. There had never been a case where she would falter but now Shampoo was seeing a side of her great-grandmother she had never witnessed and it unnerved her.

"Still, giving you the curse was wrong in itself," Cologne asserted. "And I'm ashamed to only realize this after Akane told us about Jusenkyo's history."

Shampoo didn't know what to say to console Cologne. She lowered her head, avoiding those sad eyes. It pained her to see the person she had learned so much from and looked up to appearing so vulnerable and saddened.

"Akane has the cure now doesn't she?" Shampoo tried. She then raised her eyes and met her great-grandmother's. "Everything will be alright," Shampoo said confidently and gave her best smile to soothe the old woman.

Cologne's lips twitched a little before she broke into a small smile. She still felt guilty but Shampoo's effort to assure her was warmly welcomed and it succeeded in making her feel better.

"Are you sure you don't want to come along?" Shampoo asked, deciding to change the subject.

"It's alright. I believe this could be easily handled by all of you," Cologne replied. "Even Akane with a missing arm was able to reach Jusenkyo on her own."

At the mention of Akane, Shampoo lowered her head a little. Cologne looked curiously at her and then remembered what had happened between the two.

"Try to reconcile with her," Cologne said. Shampoo kept her head down. "You two have been through so much."

Shampoo didn't answer but inwardly she agreed. She still doubted though, whether she would have the courage to ever do it.

* * *

The lights were already off in Akane's room and only the faint glow of the street lamps pierced through the curtains. Her room was well-kept and somewhat empty thanks to Kasumi's housekeeping. Akane realized how long she had been away when she came into the room. It did feel nice to be back on her own bed.

But then, Akane was having trouble sleeping. She kept tossing and turning, almost kicking off her blanket. As the night dragged on, Akane grew frustrated which only made her restlessness worse.

"Can't sleep, Akane?" came Ukyo's voice. She had agreed to sleep on the futon laid out for her on the floor but judging from her clear voice, she wasn't close to dozing off as well.

Akane sighed and turned over on her side, facing her temporary roommate.

"Yeah," she mumbled.

Ukyo was on her back and had been looking at Akane but then she averted her eyes to the ceiling, letting out a sharp sigh.

"I just hope we don't end up sleeping in," she said light-heartedly.

"If we could get any sleep at all," Akane replied. "Say, why'd you want to tag along?"

Ukyo looked at Akane to give an answer but her tongue froze. It was a good question. Why exactly did she decide to follow? All she could recall was that it had been an impulsive choice. Akane's call earlier brought up a sudden excitement in her and she decided on the spot without pausing to think. She had practically dragged Ryoga to the house.

"Well … someone's gotta look after Ryoga, you know, with his sense of direction and all," Ukyo replied.

Akane then shifted herself so that she was lying on her chest and then she rested her chin on her folded arm. A mischievous grin appeared on her face.

"Oh? I see," she said.

"Huh?" Ukyo said. She noticed Akane's grin and sensed an underlying meaning.

"W-What are you trying to say?" she asked, a little nervous.

Akane kept her grin and didn't respond.

"Hey, there's nothing going on between me and him okay," Ukyo said, getting a little infuriated. "Who would be attracted to that idiot anyway?" she grumbled.

"I didn't say anything," Akane said, half innocently, half mockingly. Akane could almost see a red embarrassed glow coming off Ukyo as she tried hiding her face under her blanket. Akane laughed at her reaction causing Ukyo's expression to darken further.

"Hey, don't be mad, Ukyo," Akane said, still sounding very amused. Ukyo kept quiet as Akane's laughter died down.

"Speaking of that, aren't you mad about his curse?" Ukyo asked. Akane reeled back, not expecting that question.

"I asked him why he seemed uncomfortable around you," Ukyo added. "He said he still felt guilty about it. I suggested that he should talk it out with you."

Ukyo then turned on her side and propped her head up with her hand, now facing Akane.

"But what about you? How do you feel about it?" she asked.

Akane stared at Ukyo for a while and then she turned to lie on her back. She looked up at the ceiling and sighed.

"I'm kinda over it now, really," Akane said. "Sure he covered it up and all but …" Akane then looked at Ukyo, giving her a smile. "It's all gonna end anyway right? In a few days the curse would be gone and well … things could be normal again. Everyone could be friends then. Whatever's passed can be forgotten. Life could continue."

Ukyo smiled at Akane's response.

"You really do care for him huh," Akane said.

"Oh stop it already!"

Akane laughed again. Ukyo then looked thoughtful which made Akane stop and glance at her curiously.

"Akane, what happened between you and Shampoo?" Ukyo asked. She looked at the girl when she didn't answer immediately. Akane had a sad look on her face.

"I … I suppose I can tell you," she said.

* * *

Atop the roof, Ryoga sneezed.

"You all right?" Mousse asked.

"Yeah, fine. A little cold I guess," Ryoga answered.

The two men had previously made final checks on their bags but were unable to sleep despite the party earlier. Both of them then decided, though awkwardly, to sit up on the roof until they got tired. They exchanged occasional small talk about how the other was doing but most of the time the two were quiet.

"Tired yet?" Ryoga asked.

"Nope," Mousse replied boringly.

Ryoga sighed and then lied down on the roof with his arms folded under his head. Mousse remained upright with his arms encircling his knees.

"Time's gone by so fast huh," Mousse said.

"Yeah," Ryoga replied. "It's hard to believe it's been a year."

"It must've been lonely to just be wandering around in all that time," Mousse said.

"It wasn't so bad. Finding Akane had been a purpose and that kept my mind focused. The fact that I was alone out there didn't really register."

Ryoga then smiled a little. His eyes were searching the sky and he counted as many faint stars as he could see.

"There's also Akari," he added. "At least I have someone I could go to out there … when there's luck that is."

"How is your relationship with her?" Mousse asked. Ryoga gave out a long, sad sigh.

"I dunno. I feel sad for her. We don't really meet up often for obvious reasons. Reaching her had always been only on sheer luck. I'm actually afraid of things not working out."

Mousse averted his eyes from Ryoga to the night sky that was illuminated partially by the half-moon.

"You shouldn't give up on her," Mousse said after a short silence. "She's still out there waiting right?"

Ryoga smiled a little. It felt strange to hear encouraging words from someone he had never considered more than an acquaintance.

"Yeah," he said softly.

'I'll return to her as soon as this is over with,' Ryoga thought. 'I hope she isn't too disappointed with not getting to see P-chan anymore.'

He chuckled a little at the name of his other form. Truthfully, he'd miss that small pig too.

"What about you and Shampoo?" Ryoga asked. "Any luck?" humorously he asked.

Mousse shook his head. He lowered his head and stared at nothing in particular.

"She's had it rough," he said.

"I'd bet," Ryoga replied sympathetically. He then sat up and looked at his companion.

"What happened to her?" Ryoga asked. Mousse was quiet for a while but Ryoga kept on waiting for a response.

"I guess I can tell you," he finally said.

* * *

The iconic bullet train of Japan glided along its railway at impressive speeds as it headed towards its next station. There weren't many people in the train today – not as many as usual. Most of its passengers were still in their offices, so to see more empty spaces in the cabin was expected.

The group had left Tokyo at around ten in the morning and was headed towards the city of Kagoshima. Everyone had contributed as much money as they could for the journey which eased Soun considering his lack of income. Now, Akane, Shampoo, Mousse, Ukyo, Ryoga and Genma were on a six to seven hour journey to Kagoshima where they would meet one of Nabiki's contacts who would ferry them to China. It was surprising – and rather scary – to have a sister with connections stretching as far as the ports. At this point, it wouldn't be outrageous if Nabiki had contacts throughout the whole country.

As it would be a long journey, most of them decided to sleep all the way. Genma had dozed off the second he got his seat beside an older man who had fallen asleep as well. Akane took the window seat behind him and had been ignoring her neighbor beside her, instead busying herself with scanning the view outside. Shampoo was on the left side of the coach in the middle seat while Mousse sat on the other side of the walkway, in front of Genma. Ukyo and Ryoga were in the same row as Akane but only separated by the walkway in the middle of the two columns. Ukyo sat at the outer end, Ryoga at the center and a teenage boy in the last seat who was leaning towards the window, watching the world pass by while music played through his earplugs.

"Did you sleep last night?" Ukyo asked, glancing at Ryoga.

"It took a while," he replied. Ukyo chuckled.

"Me too. I couldn't stop thinking about today."

"But you don't need the cure."

"Yeah, I know." She beamed at him. "Aren't you glad that I tagged along?"

Ryoga reeled back and frowned at the strangeness of the question. Ukyo's laugh brought on more confusion over him.

"You have the funniest reactions," she said. He lightly glared at her.

"Anyway, you should know that it'd be dangerous over there at Jusenkyo," he said, his tone solemn. "A slight misstep could get you a curse."

"Hey, what's with the serious face?" Ukyo said. "It'll be fine."

Ryoga closed his eyes and sighed.

"Promise me that you won't follow us across the valley," he said, looking intently at her.

It was Ukyo's turn to be surprised. She saw in his intense eyes how serious he was about this. But when she thought about it, she understood his reasoning.

"Okay, I promise," Ukyo replied. Satisfied with her response, Ryoga's expression lightened and he smiled.

"We should rest," Ryoga said. Ukyo nodded and the two leaned into their respective seats.

Just then, the train began to slow down and through the PA system, a female voice announced the approach to the next station. Soon the train stopped with only a very slight jerk. A few passengers stood up and collected their items before proceeding to walk to the exits.

Akane's seat partner was getting off at this stop. Ukyo quickly seized the opportunity and went to occupy the empty seat. That caught Akane's attention and she impulsively glanced at Ukyo.

"Hey," Ukyo greeted.

"Hey," Akane smiled.

The short greetings were awkwardly cut by a silence between the two. Akane returned to busying herself with the view outside which wasn't at all interesting as they were still at the station. Ukyo occupied herself with her own thoughts. New passengers came into the coaches, walking along the passageway to the empty seats. After about five minutes, the doors closed and the train sped off.

"You know," Akane suddenly said. "This is the first time I've gotten on a bullet train."

Ukyo glanced at her friend, smiling a little.

"That goes for the both of us," she said. "I guess it's because there's never been a reason to get on one."

"Yeah."

"But then, when you left for Jusenkyo the first time, how did you travel?"

"A number of transport exchanges which turned out to be pretty costly," Akane answered sheepishly.

"No duh," Ukyo responded. "And that's not even considering the transportation in China."

"It was good that Nabiki had contacts here and there."

"Speaking of which, that sister of yours is scary. She's made herself like a mini national reconnaissance unit."

"I know." Akane laughed.

"So," Ukyo said, trying to keep the conversation going. "How long does it take to cross the sea to China?"

"Two days," Akane responded simply. "But Nabiki said this guy could make it there faster. Like, within a day."

Ukyo seemed to pale a little.

"I hope I don't get seasick," she said queasily. Akane laughed in response.

"Would be a terrible start to a trip to China," she said.

"Yeah, it would."

The two laughed then leaned back into their chairs.

"I'm gonna get some rest," Akane said. "You should too."

"Yeah, okay."

Akane then closed her eyes and rested her head against the window. Ukyo watched as Akane drifted off to sleep. She wasn't tired yet and neither was Akane she assumed but they would need the rest. Looking over to her left, her seat next to Ryoga was still empty so she decided to have it back before anyone else took it. Her things were there anyway.

"You're not tired?" Ukyo asked Ryoga upon returning to her seat. He had been staring into space with his arms folded across his chest when Ukyo came and pulled him out of his thoughts.

"A little bit," he replied.

Ukyo slumped into her seat, a little saddened that Ryoga's short reply meant an abrupt end to the conversation. It was strange that she was feeling restless and wanted to talk with her party members despite her lack of sleep.

That brought back the previous night's conversation with Akane into her head and figured that could spark up some interaction between Ryoga and her.

"Hey, Ryoga," she called softly, looking at him. Ryoga looked at her in return, giving his full attention. "Do you know what happened between Akane and Shampoo?"

"No," Ryoga replied. "But I'm curious. Do you know why?"

Ukyo nodded in response.

"Akane told me last night," Ukyo began. She lowered her voice so that no one else would hear her. "It happened before Akane left. Cologne had done tests on a sample of … Ranma's magic anomaly in his body. She came to Akane's house to tell her about it."

"What did Cologne find?" Ryoga asked.

"She said that there were a lot of different magical energies in his body," Ukyo continued. "Each of them had their own characteristics and intensities. Jusenkyo magic was inside him too. Cologne theorized that the swirl of magic corrupted Jusenkyo's magic which might've caused him to … to die."

Ukyo lowered her gaze solemnly.

"But then from Akane's explanation," Ryoga started. "There was no way of really telling when Ranma would die."

"But," Ukyo said a little too loudly. She calmed herself down and brought back her voice down to a whisper. "But … he might've had a chance. If it weren't for those numerous energies within him, maybe something could've been done. Maybe … you know … there would've been a little more time to detect it and …" she trailed off. Ryoga could see that her eyes were watering and secretly hoped that she wouldn't break down right there.

"That became the reason why Shampoo and Akane fought."

"What do you mean?" Ryoga commented.

"Shampoo … she blamed Akane for the magic slush inside Ranma," Ukyo replied.

"Why would she –"

"She said it was because of Akane that Ranma often got into all sorts of situations, even dangerous ones that exposed him to a lot of magic. Shampoo and Akane started to yell at each other. Akane was trying to refute Shampoo's claims while Shampoo pressed on with her accusation. It took some time for Cologne to break them apart. They haven't come in contact with each other ever since."

Ukyo took a short pause and then continued.

"As time went on though, Akane started to feel that what Shampoo said was true. She began to think that she had caused Ranma's death, even almost forgetting her mission to go to Jusenkyo."

Ukyo then glanced over at Akane who was already fast asleep. She removed her gaze and looked at her interlaced fingers.

"She managed to suppress those thoughts and went on to Jusenkyo but deep down she's still hurting and blaming herself for something she hadn't done."

Ukyo gritted her teeth.

"Damn it, how could Shampoo say those kind of things? It's just horrible to put the burden of someone's death on your shoulders," she said, barely controlling her anger. Ryoga only stared at her as she slowly eased herself.

"Try to think about Shampoo's emotions," Ryoga said.

"What are you saying?" she asked, a little angry that he was trying to protect Shampoo.

"I talked with Mousse last night and he told me about Shampoo," Ryoga said. "Particularly about how she was after Ranma died."

He then looked sadly into Ukyo's eyes.

"She was lost, Ukyo. She hadn't expected that there was anything really wrong with Ranma. Everything had been kept unknown to her until that night. When it happened, she was in a state of shock. Her heart and mind couldn't handle it."

Ryoga looked away.

"She even nearly went into prostitution," he added quietly. At that Ukyo gawked.

"She … she …" Ukyo trembled as a surprising and overwhelming grief came over her.

"B-But why?"

"Ukyo, if you were in her shoes, you probably wouldn't be thinking straight too," Ryoga said.

She now felt deeply ashamed of her thoughts about Shampoo. And instead of anger towards the girl, Ukyo felt such deep pity towards Shampoo that she wanted to embrace and comfort her.

"So, don't be too hard on her," Ryoga added lightly, placing a hand on her shoulder. "All of us have been wounded in one way or another. Some may be deeper than you'd think."

Ukyo nodded and wiped the tears threatening to leak out her eyes. She then looked at Ryoga and cracked a small smile.

"I guess from now on we have to look out for each other huh," she said.

"Yeah," Ryoga mirrored her smile.

* * *

The trek to Jusenkyo would take up about three days according to Akane. The group had managed to get a ride to reach the closest point to Jusenkyo from the port. They owed Nabiki big time for all the help in easing their travel from Japan to Jusenkyo. Again they had underestimated the woman's abilities as it seemed her network stretched even beyond Japan's borders.

"We should hurry," Akane turned to say to the group. "We have a few hours before the sun sets."

The group complied with Akane's instructions and set off. There was a clear wide trail for them to follow that would end at the beginning of a dense forest. Trudging through the forest would take another half day before coming to an opening. There would be a number of trails branching out like spindles on a wheel and only one led to Jusenkyo.

Akane wanted the party to reach the forest before the sun sets and now it was already past noon. But after an hour into the journey the party seemed to be keeping up well so Akane was confident that they'd be on schedule. However she was bothered by how quiet the group was. She'd occasionally look back at them to make sure that there really was a party following her. She wondered if anyone was feeling agitated by the silence.

They finally reached the beginning of the dense forest with still an hour of sunlight left. There was enough time to set up their campsite. Akane placed her backpack down, indicating to the rest that they have arrived at their first checkpoint.

"We'll camp out here for the night," she said. Everyone nodded and set down their things. Some stayed to set up the tents while the others looked for anything useful among the trees. Before long their encampment was complete with a budding fire in the middle.

Night time soon came and everything was blanketed by darkness save for the small area around the fire. The party was enjoying dinner made by Ukyo and Shampoo. They had all insisted that Akane should stay put, saying that Shampoo and Ukyo were enough.

"But I've gotten better," Akane had pouted. Nevertheless she complied and kept herself busy with helping to set up the tents.

Now Akane was like the others eating her dinner quietly. She had to sit on the ground and bend down low while using her left hand to handle her chopsticks. She had gotten used to eating like that ever since she had lost her right arm. At least people wouldn't find her eating posture strange thanks to her circumstances. It still made her body sore though.

Akane occasionally eyed the people around her. She wished that there was some conversation going on. For the whole day she felt the air around them a little too heavy for comfort. The mood needed to lighten up and if no one was going to break the ice, she was going to do it.

She quickly finished her dinner and stood up, bringing her dirty bowl over to one side of the encampment. She walked back to her place. As if on cue, the others finished their food as well and followed Akane's actions. This would be the perfect time to spark up something Akane thought.

Soon everyone returned to their places. Genma sat on the right of Akane while Ukyo on her left. Ryoga was beside Ukyo and after him was Mousse who was happy to sit beside Shampoo. They all formed a loose circle around the fire.

"Hey guys," Akane began as soon as everyone was settled. "After all this, do you think you'd miss your curses?"

Everyone looked at her, finding the question rather peculiar. However, no one gave an immediate reply, saying something like 'that would be ridiculous'. The cursed individuals looked thoughtful instead as they pondered on the question.

Mousse was first to respond with a chuckle.

"I guess there were some memories with the curse," he said, smiling a little. "Some good, some bad."

"A lot of things have happened because of them," Genma nodded.

"Yeah," Ryoga said. He was keeping his head low and seemed to be a little uncomfortable with the conversation.

"A-Akane," he called out. He looked up at her, bravely meeting her eyes. "I wanna say … I'm sorry about my curse."

Akane was taken aback, surprised at the suddenness of his apology. But then she had expected such a thing and quickly recovered from the shock. Ryoga then went on.

"It was wrong for me to hide the curse from you and taking advantage of the situation."

'Taking advantage?' Ukyo thought.

Akane's face was reddening but thankfully due to the darkness no one noticed.

"Umm, it's okay Ryoga," she said, smiling a little awkwardly. "I won't hold anything against you."

Ryoga's eyes brightened for a while but then he was suddenly down on his knees with his head lowered.

"No!" he raised his voice. "I've done wrong to you. I've violated you numerous times."

'This doesn't look good,' Ukyo thought, her face reddening a little as Ryoga went on.

"All those times you changed in my presence. Those times I was in the bathroom with you. The times when you'd press my little pig body to you. And those occasional times when –"

Ryoga was abruptly cut off by Akane's signature hammer smashing into the back of his head. The others reeled back a little, grimacing at the sudden hit.

"That's quite enough," Akane said in a strained tone, her face burning now.

Ukyo started to laugh which then spread out to the rest of the group except for Akane and her victim of course.

"Huh, Ryoga!" Akane exclaimed. "Oh my God I'm so sorry!"

She frantically went to help him up which fueled the laughter even more. Ryoga groaned at the numbing pain in his head but he looked to be fine. Akane sighed in relief and backed away a little as Ryoga sat up. The rest of the group had stopped laughing and were catching their breaths as they watched, anticipating what would happen next.

"Look, Ryoga," Akane began. She was sitting on her knees, looking at Ryoga who held his head down to avoid her eyes. She went on.

"What you did was definitely wrong and it would be justifiable if I were to do something real bad to you. I mean really, taking advantage of your curse and my lack of awareness like that. If I weren't so calm right now I might end up slaughtering you."

Her words sent shivers among the whole group. The serenity of her tone didn't match very well with her choice of words and that made her sound like she had gone insane.

"But," Akane continued, her tone now saddened. "I don't want to hold grudges anymore. In the past I'd be seething whenever a certain someone would insult me or yell at me and I'd hold those deep inside for a long time after that. I'd often feel angry and only a little spark could bring up the past, adding to that destructive cycle. And then, just when things seem to be getting better, just when we were reconciling with each other … well, you know."

Everyone else held their heads low, realizing what Akane was talking about.

"I regret that and I'm angry with myself for behaving that way," she went on. "That's why I decided to not hold grudges anymore; to not be so angry anymore. Because in the end, I'd end up losing what I never appreciated and that's something I'd regret forever."

Ryoga raised his head and looked into Akane's eyes. She was smiling and her eyes seem to shiver as the light from the fire danced across the watery surface.

"So let's just put all that behind us. Besides, when this is over you'd be rid of your cursed form that you've despised so much," Akane said. "Though, I think I might actually miss the little guy," she added with a tinge of amusement.

Ryoga stared at Akane, having not expected such a response. But then he relaxed and out came a small smile.

"It'd be the same for me too," he said. The others couldn't help but smile too, seeing that the matter was now resolved. The rest of the night was spent with discussions of each other's activities during the past year and what the future would be like. Things would definitely be different without the curses but probably in a subtle way. They've had the curse for a rather long time so naturally they would have adapted to that sort of life. But no doubt they would miss their cursed forms, regardless of the troubles they got into because of them.

As the night went on, one by one retreated into their tents. Midnight passed and now only Shampoo and Akane remained at the fire. The two remained quiet and only stared into the waving flames to occupy themselves. In their minds though, images of what happened between them resurged. Neither of them though really wanted to bring it up to each other, figuring that it might be better to leave it in the past.

"Shampoo," Akane called out softly but still loud enough for the other girl to hear. "Do you ever think of going back home?"

Shampoo had been rather quiet during the whole exchange of goals and dreams earlier on, only reacting by smiling and laughing. She herself sounded reluctant to say anything. No one knew exactly why but they didn't want to pressure her into revealing her thoughts. Shampoo was glad that they quietly understood and respected that.

Now only she and Akane sat around the fire and Akane seemed to be trying to pry into her thoughts. But then she figured, this was the girl she had hurt with her words and maybe now Akane just wanted some sort of closure between them – the very thing Shampoo was hoping for.

"After all that's happened," Shampoo decided to answer Akane's question. "I considered it. There's not much reason for me to stay in Nerima anymore. But I don't think I can simply leave. It's become … something special."

"Oh, I see," Akane nodded.

"I do miss home," Shampoo added. "But … I don't know. Maybe one day I will return home. Just, don't know when exactly."

"I guess we'll just have to see once this is done huh," Akane said. Shampoo nodded in response. Silence followed and for a long time neither said anything to each other.

"Akane," Shampoo said, breaking the silence again. "I … What I said …"

She paused and tried to look at Akane. She saw that Akane was giving her full attention but Shampoo shied away and avoided her gaze. Akane kept on looking at her, waiting for Shampoo to continue.

"I'm sorry Akane," Shampoo finally said. "What I said to you back then; the accusations … they weren't true. I wasn't thinking clearly. I was so angry at everything that it blurred my judgements and my thoughts. I needed to blame someone for what happened to Ranma and the first person to come into my mind was you."

Shampoo kept her eyes on the fire, her fingers interlaced and her pained tears restrained. Her voice was shaky but she tried to maintain a level tone.

"I'm sorry I didn't think of your situation," she went on. "You … you were the closest to Ranma and despite the pain I feel, yours is much greater. I should've understood that. You were the one suffering the most and I forced more weight on that."

Shampoo then looked at Akane.

"Please don't blame yourself for what happened," Shampoo begged. "I'm sorry for what I said. None of it was true. None of us should burden ourselves like that."

Akane could only stare as Shampoo spewed out her regret. She didn't know what to say to the girl. For nearly a year Akane had secretly blamed herself for causing Ranma's death which never made sense to her mind but it did to her heart. And it was painful to carry such a false burden first put onto her by Shampoo. Now came the very person asking for forgiveness; asking her to not blame herself.

She looked away and rested her eyes on the fire. She was still angry and hurt at Shampoo's past accusations. It wasn't easy to let go of something like that and she doubted she could truly do that. But after listening to Shampoo's words, Akane doubted that Shampoo would be able to forgive herself too.

"There was nothing we could do about his passing," Akane said, still staring into the flames. "We were caught off-guard and we lacked understanding of what was happening."

Akane looked back at Shampoo.

"It'll be hard for me to forget and I think that it'd be the same for you," she said. "No one should carry this burden. But … I forgive you Shampoo."

Shampoo blinked away her tears and smiled.

"Then … c-can we be friends from now on?" she suddenly said, surprising Akane. "I mean … considering the things we've gone through, I think we can find a common ground to start all over."

Akane was still stunned by Shampoo's abrupt proposal but inwardly she felt happy. Happy that one by one, the knots were being unraveled and everyone was beginning to move on. Akane smiled and stood up to walk over to Shampoo. She held out her left hand to Shampoo.

"I'd like that," she said. Shampoo smiled brightly in response. She stood up and grasped Akane's hand, finally fixing the relationship between them.

* * *

There we go. I hope you like it. I designed this chapter to be relatively lighter than the rest. I also avoided using flashbacks as I figured that you guys deserve a break from them - at least for a while. Honestly I'm a little insecure about the strength of this chapter - if that makes sense. But I guess it's alright since this is like an 'easier' chapter compared to the others. Review please and tell me what you think. See you in the next one!


	12. P2: Towards the Future

Here we are, the next chapter! I guess I made decent time with only a month's gap between this chapter and the last. Could be faster I know.

I say this for a lot of chapters but really this one was hard to write. It's difficult to deal with character relationships! And because of that, this chapter is shorter than the one before. Not that I'm disappointed really. Only, I hadn't given much thought on this part of the story during its predesign (not that it really had one).

Okay, enough ranting. Here we go!

**The Curse of Jusenkyo**

Part 2

Towards the Future

The wind blew hard against her face, so much that it made her eyes water. She narrowed them and angled her face a little but she didn't want to step off the deck, not until she spotted land. She knew it wouldn't be possible to reach the coast of China so quickly but her mind wouldn't let her rest. It took a lot of patience to not take it out on the helmsman.

Cologne placed a hand on her robe where inside she had safely placed the small old book. She was a day behind the group and she worried that there may not be enough time to catch up with them. She cursed herself for not inspecting the book before they left to warn them of the danger.

She looked around the blue expanse. It was a calm mid-day and the sight was awe-inspiring but she felt none of that. The freedom of the open sea couldn't take away the agitation she felt running through her veins. There was no time to relax. She had already unknowingly wasted enough.

"Wouldn't you rather rest for now?" the helmsman said to her, raising his voice above the rushing wind. She shook her head and remained where she was. Then she spoke, even though the man wouldn't hear.

"How could I rest when there are lives at stake?"

* * *

The sun was already halfway down in the evening but the heat wave of the dry season still hung in the air. The clear sky wasn't helping too so whatever was caught out in the open would have to bear the scorching heat.

Luckily the team was deep in the forest, shaded by the towering trees. It was less dry and since little of the sun's rays reached deep into the forest, the air was more comfortable to move in. Their presence in the forest aroused the curiosity of many small animals. The little critters would only watch the party from afar but there were the occasional few that would slowly come up to them for a closer inspection. Once satisfied – or approached by one of the party members – they would turn away and disappear into the forest.

In contrast to yesterday, the group was livelier. At times one would point out something interesting among the trees or attempt to touch the animals. Other times, they would break into light conversations that eventually ended up far off the original topic. Everyone was delighted nonetheless and they appreciated the relief, forgetting all the troubles they've had.

The team walked with a more relaxed pace but Akane was still adamant in keeping with the schedule. So to keep the group moving, Akane took up lead with Genma immediately behind her. Shampoo and Mousse walked side by side behind the old man so that it'd be easier for her to steer Mousse away from obstacles. Ryoga walked with Ukyo at the party's rear, completing the line.

Open conversations had died out minutes ago and the party members began distancing themselves from each other so to have a little bit of privacy but only far enough so to keep everyone in sight.

"Careful," Shampoo said but it was a bit too late as Mousse tripped on a jutted tree root. He stumbled but kept himself from falling. Shampoo sighed and went over to his side.

"Why don't you ever put on your glasses?" Shampoo asked in their mother-tongue.

Mousse didn't answer but understood that question to actually mean "put on your glasses". So he pulled out his large framed glasses and put them on. He looked over at Shampoo.

"There, better?" Shampoo snickered. Mousse lightly glared at her but kept quiet and continued walking.

The pair was mostly silent with neither looking at each other. Mousse would sometimes discreetly eye Shampoo from the corner of his eye. He noticed that overnight she had changed. A good change that is. He was happy for her but curious as to how it had happened. So he mustered up his courage and called her name.

"Shampoo," he said. She responsively looked at him. "You seem different today. Did something happen last night?"

Shampoo was surprised that he had noticed but then she smiled. She looked ahead at the one leading the group. Mousse followed her eyes and caught on.

"Oh, so you two have cleared things out?" Mousse said, looking back at Shampoo.

"More than that," Shampoo replied. She was still smiling as she turned her attention to Mousse. "We may become real friends one day."

"That's great," Mousse smiled. "I-I'm happy for you."

"Is there something on your mind?" Shampoo then asked, noticing his distracted tone.

"Uh, no," Mousse quickly replied shaking his head left to right. It wasn't common to see her smile like that. Not in the past few months that is.

Ever since _his_ death, Shampoo began to change. Her emotions became unpredictable. Her personality switched erratically. Until eventually it came to the point where she nearly sold her dignity. Both Mousse and Cologne struggled hard to pull Shampoo back to her senses while still keeping the restaurant going. Again and again they tried talking to her but it either had no effect or it would result in an outburst.

It went on for months under the noses of people. Cologne decided to keep the matter hidden to avoid Shampoo further losing her face. One night, they were all sitting together for dinner and out of nowhere she began to break down. This time she completely let herself go, tearing down all the walls she had built to shield herself. Cologne's small frame shook at the intensity of Shampoo's grief while Mousse could only watch the love of his life in pitiful silence.

She opened up a bit more since then, though she was never the same. She talked more but the conversations were too light to carry it in length. She began smiling again but there was always either sadness or emptiness in her eyes. She started to go out of the restaurant again, accompanied by Mousse but the walks had always been awkward.

Mousse realized that he wasn't the same anymore too. Shampoo's change had forced him to be different. During those long months he learned to control himself – to watch his words and how he acted around her. He forced down his feelings for her, instead he tried to be her companion. Overtime he felt the barrier between them slowly fading. Probably she felt the same too as it seemed his efforts of making light conversations with her were welcomed.

He thought back on how blinded he was – no pun intended – and how foolish he acted before any of it happened. He only had in mind what mattered to him while disregarding what mattered to her. He was actually angry that it took something big to happen in their lives for him to see how he was treating her.

That was a good change he figured. Long gone were the days he would pathetically try to win Shampoo's heart; loudly proclaiming his 'love' – or obsession – for her with the delusion that she would reciprocate. Now he felt a genuine care towards her that was never really there before. It wasn't something he could truly describe but he liked how it made him feel.

Then Cologne's words came to his mind.

"She's very fragile at the moment so please do your best to watch for her," Cologne had said.

He vowed to her and to himself that he would do his best in supporting Shampoo. He wanted to help her get over what had happened. At the very least, he wanted to see her truly smile again.

And he did. Or at least caught a reviving flicker of it.

"Mousse," she called. He looked at her and their eyes met; his searching and hers vulnerable. Shampoo then looked away, choosing instead to eye the forest floor. Mousse looked back at the trail but he kept his ears open to her.

"I'm sorry," she began. "For the way I acted in the past few months. For being such a brat, blaming everything and everyone. Not accepting the truth and all. I shouldn't have –"

"Shampoo, there's no need for that," Mousse said. "I understand okay. It was tough for you. And I know it still is."

Their eyes met again. Mousse gave her a real, comforting smile which she replied with a small and grateful one.

'I'll be there for you' he wanted to say but somehow he could tell she knew he would.

"Aww, look at those two," Ukyo said, tilting her head a little. She and Ryoga were a few steps behind Shampoo and Mousse but still far enough to keep the conversation private.

"They seem to be getting along better now," Ryoga commented.

"It's good that she has Mousse and Cologne," Ukyo said. "She'll be alright I'm sure."

Her tone had changed and she was hanging her head down which didn't escape Ryoga's notice. Now that he thought about it, Ukyo didn't really have anyone she could confide in. Sure he had offered to take that place but it would be a while before she actually opened up to him as they were never that close to begin with.

"Everyone's got each other's backs," he said. Ukyo nodded, smiling a little.

"Like you said right?"

"Yeah, it'll all be fine."

The trees began to part and more of the evening light washed over them. They've arrived at the opening. It was strange how the floor seemed to just open in the middle of the forest. Treetops still covered most of the sky but enough light pierced through to brighten the area a little. Dead leaves covered much of the ground so firstly they needed to clear them out to make space for their tents.

The sun slipped below the horizon just as they finished setting up camp for a second night of their hike. Today everyone was more at ease. Each of them were busy with their own matters or thoughts. Dinner was already underway with Shampoo helming the ladle, stirring the simmering soup. Mousse sat close-by but kept quiet and distracted himself with twirling one of his throwing daggers in his hands. Akane sat against a tree, watching the camp. Ryoga had dozed off with half his body inside the tent. Ukyo sat in between the girls' tent and the fire, drawing random lines in the dirt with a twig – bored obviously. Genma had disappeared into the woods but he assured he wouldn't go far.

Very soon it turned dark and only the firelight shone the camp. The fire made little cracking sounds as it continued to heat the boiling soup. The owls hooted from somewhere in the dark as they awoke to hunt for food. Lights rustles were heard as small creatures darted between bushes. Apart from that, it was all quiet.

"It's ready," Shampoo eventually announced with a pleased sigh. She proceeded to fill the first bowl with the contents of the hot pot. Mousse was the first she delivered to and next came Ukyo. The latter then went to wake Ryoga up.

"Hey, Akane," Mousse called. "Food's ready."

"Yeah okay," Akane replied but her blank stare remained, almost creeping out the others. She then pushed herself up and walked over to the rest who already had their dinner with them.

"Where's Mr. Saotome?" Shampoo asked as Akane took a bowl from her.

"Hm, strange. Usually he'd bound right over at the call of food," Akane said, glancing around. Finding it hard to see in the dark she shrugged. "I guess he'll come eventually."

He never did though even when they were almost finished. They would occasionally glance around for any sign of him but there was none, not even a rustle in the bushes or a sway in the trees. There was just enough food left for Genma in the pot – a slight extra than an average person would need.

Akane was first to finish her dish.

"I'll go get him," she said.

Akane stood up, put away the bowl and went into the trees in the direction Genma had gone to. As she moved out of the fire's glow, Akane brought out her flashlight to illuminate her way. She looked up at the trees figuring that Genma would most likely be up there. When she found nothing she went deeper into the forest. It wasn't long before she spotted the old man. He was high in the tree on a large, sturdy branch. He seemed lost in thought, staring into the night sky through a large enough opening in the leaves above.

"Mr. Saotome, dinner," Akane called simply. He didn't seem to notice her, instead his eyes remained fixated at the night sky. "It'll get cold," she tried again but again he didn't answer. For a moment she feared that his mind was lost in the same way Ranma had been. As quickly as the panic came it disappeared as she reminded herself that there wasn't a drop of water around – not visibly at least.

She sighed and rested her back against the same tree Genma was in. The camp was still visible from where she was. The fire was dancing and bigger than before as the pot was now removed. She left her flashlight on to assure the rest of the group that she was alright.

"Can you see it from down there?" Genma suddenly said, startling Akane. "The sky," he added.

Akane glanced up at the old man who still avoided her eyes but at least was making conversation. She then looked further up and through the hole she saw a piece of the night sky dotted with several dimly-glowing blips.

"If only the trees opened up a little bit more. It's been quite long since I've gazed at the night sky," Genma went on, seemingly not interested in Akane's answer.

Akane didn't understand where the old man was steering the conversation to but remained patient and sat down with her back still against the tree. Her flashlight she placed on the ground beside her, shining towards the camp.

"It's unfair don't you think?" the old man spoke again. This time Akane decided to begin a two-way conversation.

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"I'm sure that elsewhere in the world there are others with curses of their own. Probably looking up the same sky tonight, wondering if there was a cure out there."

Akane looked back at the treetop, finding the small black hole.

"Honestly, I hadn't thought of that," she said.

"I don't think any of us did. Not until now that is," Genma said. "And among them all, only we know of the solution while the rest are doomed to suffer the same fate my son had gone through."

Akane looked away from the opening, suddenly feeling guilty. She hadn't thought of other people – other than the ones she knew – having a Jusenkyo curse. How many out there have died? How many knew its truth?

"Are you thinking of letting everyone else know? To tell the world?"

"It is the right thing to do after all. No one should die. Not like that."

Akane jolted as the traumatic memory shot across her mind. The rain. The desperation. The pain in her long-gone right arm. The last flicker of life in Ranma's eyes.

She drew a sharp breath and shook her head. The images still swirled in her mind but she tried her best to ignore them. Akane carried on the conversation.

"Not to be offensive but I never expected you to be saying such things."

She heard him chuckle.

"I figured you'd be surprised. But things like this do change a man."

"Well, I'm glad it's for the better."

"I can't quite say the same for Nodoka."

Akane's smile dropped as she remembered the scene in the hospital.

"How has she been?" she asked. She hadn't given herself time to find out how the older woman was doing. In fact, she had disregarded her family as well. Akane shook her head, burying those thoughts.

"I try to comfort her but I can't begin to imagine her grief. Her condition's partly my fault I admit. I had taken her son away at such a young age and just when they were reunited, he was taken away again, this time forever."

Nodoka's sad, tired expression came to Akane's mind. She hung her head, feeling sorry for her mother-figure. She squeezed her eyes shut and suppressed those images.

"But it's already happened and there's nothing anyone could do to change it. I hope to bring her through this and one day move on."

From the corner of her eye, Akane saw movement and looked up to see Genma shifting himself. He then leapt to the ground a short distance away from Akane. At that Akane stood up, not forgetting her flashlight.

"Well, I'm starved," Genma said as if the earlier conversation wasn't heavy.

"T-There should be some left," Akane said, still recovering. She caught him looking at her with a saddened expression. "Mr. Saotome?"

"No, nothing," he said and looked away. "It's just a little sad that you never ended up as my daughter-in-law. Nodoka had hoped for that."

Akane kept quiet. A year hadn't been enough for _his_ parents to move on. For all she knew they still felt that night had only happened recently – as how she'd feel all the time.

She followed the old man back to the camp. He went over to the pot and retrieved all that was left in it, filling himself up quickly before retreating to the men's tent. The rest were still up, finding it strange that the old man had retired early for the night. They huddled closer to the fire. Mousse with Shampoo, Ryoga with Ukyo; the two pairs opposite of each other. Only Akane sat at the mouth of the women's tent, watching the rest.

Mousse was lying down beside Shampoo, his legs towards the fire. Only occasionally they'd talk to each other but they kept their voices down to a whisper so to not let anyone else hear.

Ukyo sat next to Ryoga, though leaving a gap between them. She looked at each person, wondering what was on their minds. Their expressions were blank and unreadable.

She then realized something; how strange it was to see everyone sitting quietly, not trying to pick a fight with one another. She hadn't seen anyone engaging in what was common among them – martial arts. They almost seemed normal like this – lounging around, retreating into their own minds and conversations.

She looked over at Ryoga who had a small object in his hands. Though blocked from her view, she could see that it meant something to him as he seemed deep in thought while his fingers rubbed its surface. He'd slowly turn it in his hands at every angle, scanning every surface of it.

"What's that?" Ukyo asked. Ryoga perked up and looked at Ukyo first before returning his attention to his little trinket. He then placed it in his right palm and showed it to her.

Ukyo leaned in a bit and saw it was a little piglet carved out of wood. It looked solid and was well-crafted with good detail. A slightly flattened round body and a round head with its long pointed ears upright and its large eyes open. What was striking about the little piece was the spotted-pattern bandana wrapped around the piglet's neck.

"Akari made it for me," Ryoga said. "She gave it to me the last time I visited her. Said that it'd help keep her on my mind."

"And does it work?" Ukyo asked.

"Very well," he replied, chuckling and pulling the trinket back, lightly rubbing it again.

"Looks a lot like P-chan," Ukyo commented. She noticed him flinch slightly at the name and she repressed a laugh.

"Yeah, it does."

"Did you give anything to her in return?" Ukyo asked.

"Only one of my bandanas," he said with a pitiful scoff.

"Hey, it's the thought that counts, as they say," Ukyo said. Ryoga chuckled in response.

"I guess," he said. He continued to distract himself with the little wooden piglet.

Ukyo glanced at Shampoo and Mousse. She saw Shampoo's mouth moving but she wasn't able to guess what she was saying – she wished she could lip-read – as Shampoo kept her voice inaudible to everyone else. Mousse was talking to her too, seeing that she was actually enjoying the exchange – something that was rare to see between them.

Ukyo then looked over at Akane and wondered if the girl felt left out with no one talking to her. She was holding her knees with her one arm close to her chest and rested her chin on top of them. Her eyes were trained on the fire as if she were one of those fortune tellers who see images in the dancing embers. Maybe she really was trying to see what her future would be like.

"Say, you never answered that question; what will you do after you're cured?" Ukyo said and glanced at Ryoga.

Ryoga rested his hands on the ground behind him and leaned back on it, letting out a small sigh. He looked up at the trees as though his answer lie somewhere among the leaves and branches.

"I don't know. I've thought about it but … I can't really imagine life without it," Ryoga finally replied.

"What about Akari?" Ukyo pressed on.

At the mention of her Ryoga held up the wooden piglet. He gazed at it for a while, remembering the girl who had chosen him for his victory over a sumo pig.

"I told you, I'm not sure," he replied. "We've never really talked about what would come next. We haven't thought of any plans. I guess I'll just get this over with and see where it goes from there."

Ukyo let out a long repressed sigh and returned her eyes to the fire. She held out her hands, palms outwards and felt the cozy warmth on her skin.

"You should go see her after this is done," Ukyo said and then looked at him. Noticing, Ryoga looked back at her. "I can help you get there."

"Yeah, alright. Thanks," Ryoga said awkwardly.

"Why'd you ask all of a sudden?" he said after a while. She was visibly caught off guard by the question even though she tried hiding it.

"Just curious … you know, about how things would be from now on," Ukyo replied.

"Well, then I'm curious too," Ryoga said, now turning slightly to face her. Ukyo felt pressured by the sudden attention he was giving her. "What about you?"

"M-Me?" Ukyo flustered. "I guess … Well, I've actually thought of returning home to Osaka. But …"

"But?" Ryoga pressed on when she didn't continue. Ukyo shook her head and laughed a little at the irony of the situation.

"I don't know. I've thought of home but I don't really want to leave the restaurant," she said and then averted her gaze back to the flames. "A lot of things have happened you know."

A while passed as Ryoga stared at her, waiting in case she had something to say. She didn't disappoint.

"Hey, Ryoga," she said, looking back at him. "Did it ever cross your mind that what happened to Ranma could happen to you? I mean, before we found out what it was exactly."

He blinked, not quite expecting that question. He closed his hand around the wooden piglet and stared at his fist, looking thoughtful.

"For a while I did. But I had thought of it as an unjustifiable fear. So it wasn't long before I totally forgot about it, until now of course."

Ukyo only nodded in response.

"But now that you mention it, to have lived during the past year, I guess I was really lucky," Ryoga added. He then looked at the people around him. "All of us were. It's something I'm grateful of."

"Yeah, me too," Ukyo said. Ryoga looked at her in curiosity but she had her eyes focused on the fire again.

"I don't think I'd be able to take it if anyone else … you know, died that way," Ukyo said. She shuddered in surprise when Ryoga's hand clasped her shoulder. Ukyo looked at him.

"Once we get to Jusenkyo and get rid of this, you don't have to worry about that anymore," he said, giving her a reassuring smile. She nodded and smiled in return. The two then broke eye contact and gazed at the fire.

* * *

Akane had woke them up early in the morning. They groaned and complained for having their sleep interrupted but got up nonetheless. They didn't want to piss the Tendo girl off.

Quickly they brought down their tents and packed up their bags. Akane looked around a while, carefully scanning each trail looking for some sort of mark she said. And there it was, a series of horizontal cuts parallel to each other running down a tree that grew beside a barely visible path.

"Luckily I had a guide with me then," Akane said as she led them through the path.

"Does everyone know where Jusenkyo is?" Ukyo had said.

"And that guide spoke Japanese?" Shampoo asked.

"Hm, now that you mention it, he was a little strange. Dark clothes. Face hidden. Kept to himself," Akane said thoughtfully, only realizing it now.

Ukyo's eyebrow twitched at that and she whispered to Ryoga.

"It's a miracle she's still alive."

"That's not nice to say Ukyo," Ryoga chided her, though he felt the same disbelief she did.

They travelled further along the trail in a closed line. The forest was denser now and they wouldn't want to risk losing each other. About an hour in they heard the lapping of water on the riverbank. Akane had said that they would come up to a river and from then on they would follow it upstream all the way to another path just before Jusenkyo. They were also running low on water so it was the perfect time to replenish.

All six bent down to fill up their water bottles. Despite the water being clear, they would later distill it before actually using it to drink.

"Okay, done here," Ukyo called out. She capped her bottle and then put it in her bag's pocket. "Ryoga?" she said, looking at her side. His hand was still outstretched holding the bottle's mouth on the water surface.

"Ryoga?" she asked for him again, crawling closely now. She noticed that his bottle was already full and that water was spilling back out of it. He still held it there though. She turned her eyes to his and was first puzzled to find them looking glazed. Panic then took over quickly.

She was about to call out to him and grasp his shoulder when he rolled into the water. Ukyo's eyes widened in terror.

* * *

Like how it ends? Hahaha.

Okay not funny. Hope you guys like this chapter. Only one more to go! Unless things unexpectedly change.


	13. P2: End of the Road - Epilogue

Here it is! Nearly a year. F* #! This shouldn't happen. This is so bad of me. I'm sorry guys. No excuses.

But it's done! Yes, the final chapter. And you guys had to wait a year to get this. Really sorry about that. But I'm glad it's over now. Phew. Now I can move on to other projects.

Again sorry. And please, read. Hopefully you don't actually have to go back to previous chapters to get what's going on. Hopefully.

**The Curse of Jusenkyo**

Part 2

End of the Road

Ice cold water surrounded his little body. So cold that it shocked his limbs to paralysis. Upon hitting the water he instantly lost his senses and in effect wasn't able to right himself. He rolled and tumbled in the rushing water, losing perception of up and down, feeling weightless as if drifting in space.

Soon he realized the reality of his situation. He couldn't feel the force of the water nor the biting chill of it on his skin. Not even the weight of the water pressing down on him. His vision was narrowed as if he was looking through a peephole and his mind muddy.

But he was awake. He knew that. But he couldn't feel his body, as though he was cut off from it.

The dark walls surrounding his mind then started closing down on him. Even though trapped like this, it still felt like drowning. He started to panic but still his body wasn't reacting. His lungs didn't scream to take in non-existent air and his limbs remained still. He then remembered Akane's story back at the Tendo home. Was it happening to him?

Someone's slender fingers suddenly came into his view. They came closer and enveloped his small body.

Ukyo had grabbed hold of Ryoga and pulled him close to herself. She then swung her feet down to touch the riverbed. She blew air out her nose and sprang up, bursting through the water surface. She took in big, desperate breaths and held Ryoga's pig form well above the river. She hadn't thought to push her wet hair from her face as she frantically made her way through the chest-level river to the bank.

She got Ryoga on shore and then pulled herself out of the water. The others had been waiting and they helped Ukyo out of the river while some of them tended to the small pig.

He was alive and conscious. Ryoga could feel his body again after which came the impulse to cough out water. Other than that, he was perfectly fine. Lying on his side he tested his small limbs and found them to be working normally too. Did Ranma encounter something similar?

The crowd was asking him whether he was okay – as if he could verbally answer – but he was more distracted by the sound of heavy and rapid breathing.

Ukyo was on her knees, hunched over, shaking violently with each panicked breath. She supported herself with her hands but they seemed more likely to give way any moment. Her lungs continued to aggressively suck in air but it didn't feel enough. Her chest hurt, her eyes wide open in shock but her vision blurred as she began to feel faint.

"Ukyo!" Shampoo rushed to the hyperventilating girl. She crashed down to her knees in front of Ukyo and gripped the girl's shoulders.

"Ukyo, look at me," Shampoo said, trying to be calm.

Ukyo didn't seem to hear Shampoo. Her head was still down and her body was growing weaker. She kept on breathing hard but it was as if no air was coming in. The panic worsened as she came close to passing out.

"Ukyo, he's okay. Ryoga's alright. You pulled him out of the water. He's safe now. Look up and you'll see him there. He's fine," Shampoo said, making sure to say the words clearly and calmly.

Her breathing was still harsh but it was starting to slow down now. Her body felt limp but Shampoo's tight and reassuring grip on her calmed her down.

Ryoga, still in his pig form slowly walked up to Ukyo. He nudged her arm lightly to catch her attention. They held each other's gaze and that somehow helped her. Her breathing was regulating but her head still hurt and her body still weak. She let her arms slowly give way and turned herself so that she was lying down on her back. Shampoo said something but she didn't quite hear it.

Ukyo took long calming breaths and closed her eyes, trying to ignore the dizziness. She lifted an arm weakly and shielded her eyes from the sun.

"Ukyo?" Akane asked, kneeling at her side.

"I just … need a minute," Ukyo said weakly before soon passing out.

"She's out?" Mousse came over.

"She just needs rest," Shampoo replied.

"Well, what do we do now?" Genma asked.

Akane looked at everyone's questioning faces and then down at P-chan who still had his concerned eyes on the sleeping girl.

"Let's get Ryoga changed first," Akane said. She noticed that P-chan flinched at the mention of his real name. He still found it strange for her to use his actual name, and so did she.

Soon Ryoga was back in his human form and with a set of dry clothes. Luckily he hadn't been carrying his backpack while he was refilling his water bottle.

They were now a little further inland from the river. Ukyo was still unconscious so Shampoo had laid out a mat for the girl to lie down on. She sat close to Ukyo in case the girl woke up. Mousse was quiet beside Shampoo. Ryoga paced around back and forth overcome with guilt. Akane had went off into the woods, saying she needed some time alone. Genma had followed her but stopped when Akane glared at him. He stood at his place, keeping an eye out for his would-have-been daughter-in-law.

It was a while before Akane came back, looking lost.

"Are you alright?" Genma asked.

"I need to ask everyone something," Akane said. Without giving him time to respond, Akane walked past Genma to the rest of the group.

"Guys," Akane said, catching everyone's attention. She paused a few beats before she continued.

"Do we go on?" she asked.

"Why are you asking this now?" Ryoga asked.

"It happened didn't it?" Akane said.

"What are you talking about?" Ryoga said.

"Don't play dumb Ryoga. It's starting to pull you isn't it," Akane said, raising her voice in anger.

"I …"

Ryoga saw in Akane's eyes that she wasn't going to tolerate him lying to her. He could almost hear the words "Don't you dare!"

"It's … not the first time," Ryoga finally said.

"And you didn't say anything?"

"I'm sorry."

Akane seethed but couldn't remain angry for so long. Not anymore. Not as how she used to.

"No, no, I'm sorry," she said. "I'd forgotten about your curses. I was careless."

"Something like this might happen again once we get to Jusenkyo," she added.

"So, what do we do?" Genma asked.

"I …"

Akane searched in each person's faces for inspiration but only saw their dependence on her. Only she knew how to get there and so like it or not, the final decision was hers to make. As if for the first time, she realized the weight of her responsibility. She carried all their lives on her shoulders.

It was overwhelming; the thought of her being the one to decide their fate. Akane backed up and leaned against a tree.

"I … don't know," she said.

Everyone fell back into silence, all lost on what to do. They were now playing a risky game with their lives on the betting table.

"Well, it's not like we haven't faced near-death situations before," Ryoga said after a while. "When our lives were on the line. When death seemed inevitable. And this is just another one of those times where death is staring right in the face. I'm ready to risk it all."

"Ryoga," Akane said.

"We have come so far haven't we?" Mousse said. "Might as well see this to the end, whatever the consequences."

"Ranma … he would have continued," Shampoo added.

"Indeed he would," Genma said.

"But whatever it is, it's your say Akane," Ryoga said.

Their decision was final. They were willing to risk their lives for the cure. Despite the choice being given to Akane, the decision had already been made.

"Then we'll press on," Akane said. A smile came to her, strengthened now by her friends to end the journey.

"Alright, let's pack up and get going," she said.

The group did as ordered while Ryoga went over to Ukyo. With Shampoo's help, he got Ukyo on his back. Carefully he got up from his kneeling position, keeping his body leaned forward and joined the line. Genma then came over and tied a rope around Ryoga's waist and encircled the other end around his.

"This should keep you from wandering around," the old man said. Ryoga glared at him but said nothing.

Akane led the group again while Genma followed behind her. Ryoga kept up behind Genma while Shampoo and Mousse formed up the rear. As Ryoga and Ukyo were unable to carry their things, Genma volunteered to carry Ryoga's much heavier backpack while Ukyo's was handed over to Shampoo.

The group began walking again, a little further inland to avoid any more unwanted incidents. Their paces were slower than before as Ryoga wanted to be careful with Ukyo. As he walked and listened to the sounds of the water, he couldn't help replaying what had happened at the river. Even now he was shaken by the experience of feeling trapped and helpless.

The rope suddenly tugged his waist.

"Don't run off now," Genma said.

Ryoga glared at the old man's back in annoyance.

They continued on and Ryoga tried his best to keep his mind off any distractions. But then over and over he thought of the incident. As Ryoga stepped over a tree branch, he remembered the weight of the person he was carrying on his back.

He was ever grateful to her but at the same time he felt guilty about what happened after. It was careless of him to stand close to the water, forgetting about the risks he had rather recently learned about.

The rope tugged at his waist again and he heard Genma clicked his tongue but the old man didn't say anything.

"Mmmh," he heard Ukyo moaned. He felt her shift slightly so he slowed down his pace. Her arms then wrapped themselves around his neck and Ryoga felt her move her head to a more comfortable spot in between his shoulders.

"Ukyo, you awake?" Ryoga asked softly.

"Mmmh, yeah," Ukyo replied sleepily.

"Are you alright?"

"I'm okay," she mumbled. "This feels nice," she added after a pause. "I'm not too heavy am I?"

"No, not at all," Ryoga replied, chuckling a little. "Just rest. I'll be fine."

"Everything okay back there?" Genma asked, turning slightly to look at the younger man.

"Yeah, we're okay," Ryoga answered. Genma said nothing more and walked on.

"Ryoga," Ukyo weakly said.

"Yeah?"

"I'm glad you're okay," she said.

Ryoga deflated a little as she said that.

"Me too," he said "Sorry I made you worry."

Ukyo didn't reply to that nor did Ryoga say anything else and soon she fell asleep again.

The group walked for another hour before stopping to take a break. Ukyo woke up then and tested her balance.

"I think I'm alright now," she had said.

They passed snacks to each other and drank necessarily before continuing on. There wasn't much conversation for the next few hours. Only sounds of the woodland creatures and occasional remarks accompanied their silent trudging. The dense forest then slowly gave way and the narrow crooked path opened up to a wider dirt road.

"Alright guys, just a little further and we're there," Akane said. She could see everyone's faces lighting up, making her more determined to get this done.

The team picked up their paces and their excitement grew with each step. The mountains surrounding the valley seemed to grow as they got closer. Genma was the first to break into a run, dragging Ryoga – who was still attached to the rope – along with him. The younger man stumbled and yelled at the old man but was quick to recover and ran at the same pace. Shampoo ran after them as well, followed closely by Mousse. Ukyo laughed at their antics and decided to join the rest.

"Come on!" she said excitedly to Akane before running off.

Akane couldn't help but smile and joined the others.

The sun was halfway down, casting a fiery orange glow on the sides of the mountains. Akane watched as the team descended into the fabled valley of springs. It was truly a sight to see. From a distance it almost looked like a vast lake with numerous bamboo poles sticking out like lilies on a pond. And contained in those waters were spells that would make the toughest martial artist training above them cringe at the thought of falling into any spring.

The Legendary Cursed Springs of Jusenkyo.

The group met the guide who was happy to see them again and congratulated them for having found a way to cure the curses once and for all. The guide had already tidied up and prepared the guest cabins for them. The team thanked him and went in to place down their things.

Night was approaching and everyone went to wash off their sweat from a long day of trekking. The guide showed them the hot springs for the men and women, letting them bathe there. They savored their time to clean themselves until only faint streaks of red and orange light colored the end of the sky.

Ryoga was coming back from his bath, already clothed in his white round-collared t-shirt and black tracks. He spotted Ukyo sitting alone near one of the springs, staring at the darkening valley. Was she still thinking about what happened at the river?

"Ukyo?" he called out as he neared her. She didn't respond.

Ryoga waited awhile in case Ukyo was going to say something. She didn't so he went to sit beside her. He looked at her for a while, searching her distant expression. Seeing that she wasn't going to talk yet, he averted his eyes to the valley of springs.

He remembered the last time they were here to rescue Akane and eventually went on to defeat Saffron. How amusing it was to be so close to the source of their curses and yet they weren't able to end it all then. Now after over a year they've returned and this time there wasn't going to be anything in the way. No distractions or side missions.

Though, there was that slight chance that things could go wrong as they've always had before. Ryoga kept that in mind.

But putting aside the curses, tragedies and mishaps, looking at the springs now with what's left of daylight brought on a feel of tranquility. It almost seemed like the place people would go to on long holidays. Maybe a little fishing or a dip in one of the springs. And the bamboo poles would serve as a unique way of martial arts training without having to worry about falling in the springs and having something weird happen.

It would be really nice if the Jusenkyo springs were just springs.

Ryoga looked over at Ukyo, wondering what was on her mind. She had her knees pulled up close to her chest, locked in that position by her arms encircling her legs. Her body rocked back and forth gently while she busied herself with her thoughts.

"Is something bothering you?" he asked.

She stopped moving at that and stretched out her legs while her hands moved to the ground to support herself as she leaned back a little. She let out a long sigh but didn't say anything.

Ryoga felt his presence was unwelcomed so he decided that it'd be better to go back to the cabin. Just then …

"Remember when I mentioned Konatsu?" she said.

He settled back down and gave her his full attention.

"Yeah," Ryoga answered.

"Well, he left for a reason."

Ukyo had toned down her voice which made it difficult for Ryoga to hear. So he leaned towards her a bit.

"What happened?" Ryoga asked when she didn't continue. She then leaned forward and held her knees with both hands.

"I …" finally she began. "I tried to …" she seemed unable to continue and to Ryoga's surprise there were tears in her eyes.

"Ukyo," he said softly. She inhaled deeply, shutting her eyes tight and started over.

"I was alone, in my room. It was at night and it was raining. Just like that night."

Ukyo shuddered as she held back her tears.

"I couldn't take it. I didn't know what to do."

She paused again.

"I had a knife and …"

"Ukyo, wait," Ryoga interrupted quickly.

Ukyo kept her eyes shut and breathed deeply. She still remembered.

Ukyo was sitting in the middle of her room, dressed in white. She kept her eyes closed, whispering to herself a silent prayer. Once she was done, she took in a deep breath and then opened her eyes. On the floor in front of her was one of her kitchen knives, sharpened and washed, ready for the occasion.

It had barely been two weeks since Ranma's passing but to Ukyo time was frozen. The images of that night were all that she could think and dream about. After a few days of involuntary flashbacks, she knew that the memory would stay with her for a long time. She'd been trying to hide the fact that she wasn't getting any good sleep but her regular customers had been showing concern for her.

It's pretty much known among the regulars that Ukyo and Ranma were close. They'd always see the two chatting delightedly together though it was fairly obvious that Ukyo wanted them to be more than friends. But now things have turned sharply southwards and her customers could see the change in her. Some who were concerned enough went up to her and talked to her, asked if she was alright or even gave gifts.

But all the attention was too much for her. She knew they meant good but it wasn't giving the desired effect. At least Konatsu realized that and avoided bringing the matter up.

She was descending further into a dark spiral that had ripped open after that night. She went through each day with pain in her heart. Her thoughts were dark and she felt her world coming apart. She was lost. She imagined herself standing in a fast moving crowd that the people appeared blurred. She wasn't able to move, stuck in some other dimension. She didn't have the strength anymore.

One day, as she was washing her utensils, Ukyo accidentally cut herself with one of her knives. That was how she eventually ended up in her room with the very knife that had cut her.

Ukyo took a few deep calming breaths and reached for the glinting knife. She held it horizontally, staring at the blade that would end it all. Her finger slowly traced the flat side of the blade along the sharp end, feeling the smoothness of her fine work. She turned the blade so that it was now pointing upwards and she looked at the tip, turning the knife slowly so that she could see it from all angles.

"I guess this is it," she whispered to the blade, her companion and now her savior.

Ukyo turned the blade in her hand and held it in a reversed grip. She brought it close to her midsection, touching her clothed stomach with the tip of the knife. She hesitated, letting the knife hover just millimeters from her body. She was scared of the pain that would come, the numbness, the light-headed feel and the cold darkness that would finally envelop her.

'I'm thinking too much,' she thought and then tightly closed her eyes. For a while she let her thoughts wander, losing herself in them. Eighteen years of life flashed through her mind, those times that she still remembered and a little of those she thought she'd forgotten.

She longed for those happy times. She missed the people she had met. She missed the ridiculousness and the chaos.

But above all, she felt sad. Sad that many of those years had been spent grudging on Ranma. Sad that she found herself falling for him all over again, adding herself to the harem around the boy. Sad that she was probably never in Ranma's sights as a choice for a lover and that she'd never have that chance again.

At the end of it all, Ukyo found herself in tranquility. The sudden bombardment of memories and emotions finally left her feeling empty. She opened her eyes slowly and looked down at the blade.

She began to press the tip onto her stomach.

"Ukyo!"

A sickening shiver ran down her spine as the door suddenly burst open. Her slow thrust had stopped but the knife was still pressed against her stomach.

"Ukyo, are you …," Konatsu was hesitant. He could feel the eeriness and how heavy the air was as if death itself was in the dimly lit room. Ukyo's back was facing him but even though he couldn't see what she was doing, he could read the dark air around her.

"Konatsu," Ukyo said in a harsh whisper.

"I-I've made dinner," Konatsu went on nervously. "Please come down."

Ukyo kept her gaze on the knife, gripping it tightly. She felt anger welling up inside her. She had gathered up so much will to make the decision. Over and over doubts came to her mind but she pushed down all of them leaving nothing but emptiness in her thoughts. The bubble she had wrapped herself in had successfully isolated her from the outside world.

And then suddenly a pin managed to find its way to her, pricking the fragile wall, letting the outside seep in.

"No," she said sharply.

"Y-You must be hungry though," Konatsu tried again. "You didn't eat mu-"

"NO!"

As Ukyo screamed, letting out her frustrations, her anger, her anguish, she raised the knife to deliver herself a final blow, one that would end everything.

However, quicker than Ukyo could react, Konatsu came and grasped her hands, the knife only inches to her body.

But she wouldn't have any of it. She yelled again, fury blurring her thoughts so much that it hurt. With strength she never knew she had, Ukyo pried her hands away from Konatsu's tight grip. Konatsu wasn't going to give it up. He wouldn't let her take her own life. The two struggled; Konatsu grasping Ukyo's hand and trying to get the knife while Ukyo forcefully pulling away with each attempt.

Konatsu didn't want to hurt Ukyo. She was the one who gave him a place to stay and to be of good use after all. But wrestling her like this was pointless and it could put both of them in danger. Konatsu had a hold of Ukyo's hand. He swiftly went around her so that he faced her back, without letting go of her hand. He wrapped his free arm around Ukyo's neck and a leg around one of hers. Having her locked like this, he twisted Ukyo's hand, not enough to severely damage it but just so that it hurt till she lost her grip. The knife fell from her hand and for a moment the worst situation had been avoided.

Ukyo wasn't going down easily. She pried a leg away and slammed her foot on Konatsu's bent knee. She used the force to push herself backwards, catching Konatsu off guard and sending them both falling to the floor. The impact was enough for Ukyo to free her captured hand from Konatsu's grasp.

In the split second opportunity, Ukyo went for the knife. Just as she reached its hilt, she felt her leg being pulled back by Konatsu. She kicked him away but then he came again on top of her. At the last moment, she turned upwards facing him. Konatsu was unprepared and he was falling on top of her. The knife was still in Ukyo's right hand and she was in the middle of bringing it to her right when her instincts kicked in and she hacked the knife into Konatsu's side.

Konatsu fell hard on top of Ukyo and she could feel the sudden pressure bending her arm that she feared it would break. And with that hard fall, she came out of her blind rage. She was confused as if only now noticing that she was underneath Konatsu. Her senses returned and she could feel some kind of thick, warm fluid drenching her side. She tried to move her hand but then Konatsu let out a brief yelp. Ukyo's eyes widened.

She pushed hard to roll Konatsu off to her left and surely enough the knife she had intended to stab herself with was smothered in Konatsu's blood. Her hands trembled, realizing what she had done. She threw the knife away to the far corner of the room and was instantly above Konatsu.

"Oh my God! Oh my God, Konatsu! Konatsu! Oh no! Oh no! No, no, no, no! Stay awake Konatsu! You'll be fine! You'll be alright! Oh God, I'm sorry! I'm sorry Konatsu! I'm so sorry!"

Ukyo was panicking. Her hands fumbled around the wound but then instincts took over. She hurried over to her closet and pulled out the first thing in sight. She rushed back to Konatsu, her t-shirt now a ball of cloth, and placed it above his wound.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" she kept saying as tears started to blur her vision. She pressed the crumpled t-shirt into Konatsu's deep cut, trying to stop the bleeding, eliciting a subdued groan from him.

"I gotta get help," Ukyo said, realizing that a mere pressure cloth wasn't going to be enough. She grabbed Konatsu's hand and directed it onto the cloth, pressing it down. Konatsu groaned again.

"I need to call for help," she said, gripping his hand. "I'm so sorry."

Ryoga had been listening intently as Ukyo told him her dark past of not so long ago. He had thought that Akane had it worst as she was the closest to Ranma and would've been the most emotionally damaged. And listening to how Shampoo had her mind virtually broken was disheartening as well. There was no way his emotional turmoil could compare to them.

Now he's hearing Ukyo's story, the last of the three girls closest to Ranma. He had expected this sort of thing to happen – not that he wished for it – but he was still unprepared to listen to someone coming close to it. He was pushed to tears as Ukyo struggled with her words.

She then went on.

"So I called Dr. Tofu. I told him about Konatsu, leaving out the details. Dr. Tofu came and picked him up. I followed them to the clinic. Konatsu was soon patched up but the doctor said he had lost a significant amount of blood. Luckily he had Konatsu's blood type in his storage. It was a few days before Konatsu returned home. And boy was it awkward."

A sad chuckle accompanied the last bit.

"It took a while before I was able to talk to him but I'd always feel the guilt, the shame and I guess he knew. I guess he understood because a few days later he decided to leave, saying that he'd be fine on the road."

Ukyo paused and then smiled. She went on, lowering her voice a little as she remembered the last time she spoke with Konatsu.

"Before he left he made me promise to never try and take my own life away again."

"And have you tried to ever since?"

Ukyo shook her head, smiling a little proudly this time.

"It was still tough though. It's not really easy to let things like this go you know."

Ryoga nodded, unable to find words to say. Ukyo then looked at him.

"But don't worry. I may not be as happy as I had been before but I'm always trying to move past this thing. I have to admit that I do sometimes think about ending my life but at those times I always think about Konatsu. And my father's been helpful, most of the time available on the phone for me to talk to. So yeah, I'm fine, even if I'm still crawling."

Ryoga smiled.

"Well, that's good to hear."

Ukyo smiled back and returned her glance to the darkness beyond her. She could see now as her eyes had adjusted to the night.

"And now you're here too," she said.

Ryoga made a small gulp sound, surprised by her bluntness and he felt his face burning up.

"As well as everyone," Ukyo went on. "I feel better knowing that there are people around me going through the same thing. So, thanks."

She looked at Ryoga who all of a sudden looked nervous.

"You alright?"

"Nah, I'm fine," Ryoga tried to recover. "Just … mosquitoes."

"Oh, right. We'd better head back," Ukyo said and then stood up. Ryoga followed and then both walked back to the cabins where the rest of the group were just about to have dinner.

* * *

Akane couldn't sleep that night. She kept remembering the lively conversation they had over dinner, switching their topics without any clear coherence with the previous ones. It had been interesting to see within one night each person's perceptions on various things.

Among their early topics were their experiences in martial arts, how they became interested in it and the tough times they went through training. They shared folktales that have been passed down in their families which the group undoubtedly enjoyed. As the seemingly endless discussions went on, the topics grew deeper and heavier. They even talked about rights for men and women that had actually stemmed from a question about the customs of the people Shampoo and Mousse belonged to. And for some reason they could never really part from the topic on what would they do after the curse was gone. From there they talked about how many people don't actually know what they want out of life; that most people simply follow the trends and not really carving their own path. And that brought them to question their choices in life. That had made the group quiet down but after a long while they carried on to other topics.

The night dragged on to the point where some eyes were starting to burn and droop so they said their good nights and retreated into their cabins. All but Akane dived immediately into deep sleep upon reaching their pillows. The discussion had been tiring but it was worthwhile. They've somewhat known each other for about three years now and yet they learned much more about one another in a single night.

And that was unsettling for Akane, hindering her from getting her sleep. She tossed and turned in her cabin bed, trying to position herself to tell her brain that she was comfortable and ready for rest. But it wasn't her body that was uncomfortable.

Akane lay on her back and she stared at the underside of the top bunk where Ukyo had decided to sleep on. Her eyes had adjusted to the dark so she could make out the wooden frame supporting the mattress and Ukyo above her. She looked to her left and saw that Shampoo was sleeping soundly on another set of bunk beds. The Chinese girl had chosen to sleep on the bottom bed.

When Ranma had been alive the three of them were rivals for his love – not that she'd admit it then – but now they were very much like friends. It felt like they had known each other for a long time to the point where she couldn't imagine if they were to part from one another.

Carefully so to not wake them up, Akane got off her bed and crept out of the cabin. She walked over to the men's cabin and peered in through the window. They were sleeping just as soundly as her room mates. She turned away and then headed for the entrance of the springs. She crossed her arms and rubbed herself to counter the night chill enveloping her. But then another kind of chill came over her as she sensed a familiar presence behind her. Akane turned and there she saw the person that had guided her on this path.

"Tai," she said.

"You seem troubled," he said.

Akane looked off to the side at the cabins. She imagined how each party member were sleeping soundly, not realizing that she was talking to a wandering spirit. She closed her eyes and sighed.

"It's nothing," she said.

"You should rest."

"I know. Just needed some air," Akane said, slowly turning away from Tai and back to looking into the darkness covering the pools. It went quiet for a long while but Akane still felt Tai's presence behind her. He hadn't moved from his place as if he was waiting for Akane to say something first.

Akane had no intention to do so though. She just wished that he went away.

"Remember what you came here for," Tai suddenly said, causing Akane to jump a little. But then she sighed and lowered her head.

"Yes, I know," she said. Her eyes remained fixed on the vast valley of cursed springs, picturing in her mind the coming day. She glanced behind her just as she felt the presence disappear and true enough Tai wasn't around anymore. She cast her eyes back to the springs. It would be a restless night for the young woman.

* * *

The air was still cold like it had been the night before. The sun was only beginning to shine the new day. A light mist had covered the valley further mystifying the legends. Just as the life around the valley woke up to the day, the party of cursed individuals rose and prepared themselves for the final leg of their journey.

The five of them were currently huddled around Akane as she showed them the location of the curing spring on her map. There were hundreds of springs in the way and some were so close to one another that they needed to take big turns. And since it was at the far end of the valley, Akane predicted that it would take nearly two hours to reach there.

"And please be careful. You wouldn't want to fall in another cursed spring," she said.

Everyone nodded, already aware of the dangers.

Ukyo stood a few paces away and watched them with a smile. Pretty soon all these people in front of her would be free of their curses. She was truly happy for them but at the same time she was scared. Things were going to be different and who knows what would happen. Would life become normal? Whatever normal was.

She only wished that Ranma had a chance to be rid of his curse too.

The group was ready to move out and Ukyo gave a little cheer for them. They smiled back at her and then went off. Ukyo watched as their forms slowly retreated, shrinking in size before finally disappearing into the mist.

* * *

The group walked in a line with Akane leading them. Slowly they were making their way through the valley, trying their best to dodge the springs. None of them were feeling any sort of pull from the waters yet. But the tension was very much evident in their steps and their silence. It was only after they were deep in the valley did the silence break.

Even then it was an unsettling matter.

"Akane," Genma had asked. "Why is that … spirit still around?"

"Huh?" Akane slowed her steps a little.

"Wandering spirits all have reasons why they remain on Earth. So what was his?"

Akane didn't answer right away.

"I guess it's to cure those who were cursed by Jusenkyo," she said.

"He didn't tell you?" Genma asked.

"I assume so. Why else would he tell me about the journal?" Akane replied.

"He didn't explicitly tell you," Genma said, sounding more like a statement.

Akane sighed and stopped.

"No, he didn't."

"Akane, dealing with spirits is dangerous. Even more when they're from Jusenkyo," Genma said.

Akane turned sharply which caused Genma to back up.

"Look, I had the journal translated by the person who wrote it. He explained to me how it worked. I've tested the spring. It's all fine okay. Nothing to worry about," she said.

"Did he show any indication of wanting to be set free from this world?" Genma asked.

"Enough already! Don't you all trust me?"

"Akane, we do. I just want to make sure that we don't walk into more danger."

Akane sighed and looked at the rest of the group that had remain quiet all the way.

"You're right. I'm sorry. It is something to worry about. But I assure you that things are fine," Akane said. "What's important now is to have you all free from this curse. About that guy, that spirit, let's just forget about him for now, okay."

Genma was still doubtful and his questions had made the others concerned as well. But he didn't say anything to further the argument. He would waste their time. So he nodded.

"Okay," Akane said and resumed her role as the troop head. "Over there."

She pointed to the end of the valley, at the mountains. It was hard to spot but there was a rocky path that led to a cave up the side of the mountain.

"There're a series of tunnels up there so stay close," she said.

"It's still a long way ahead," Ryoga said.

"It'll be over soon enough," Akane said.

* * *

Two hours had passed since they began their journey across the valley and Ukyo was literally suffering from boredom. During the first few minutes she talked to the guide, asking him about his life and why he chose this job. She was surprised to learn he had a daughter as well. Then the conversations slowly withered down to awkwardness and the guide left to save himself, leaving Ukyo alone at the entrance of the valley.

She started pacing around, anxious for their return, hoping that none of them were caught by the water. After countless rounds she got tired and sat down, picking the grass and dirt at her feet. She began to wonder how many animals, people or whatever – she was told about the Rouge-Asura incident – drowned in the springs.

Did they have to drown and die? Or is falling into the water enough to create the curse? Why won't the curses be replaced when another person, animal, thing fall in?

She started to picture her cursed friends cured, what their lives would be like. No more worrying about hot or cold water. No more changing into embarrassing forms.

But most of all they wouldn't need to worry about their lives being in danger.

They would all then live happily ever after in Nerima.

Of course such endings never really come to them. Even if they returned to their lives free of the curses, their future still waited. Shampoo, Mousse and Cologne may want to return to their tribe. Akane would probably return to school. And who knows where Ryoga would end up. He had Akari though.

That left herself pretty much alone in the Nerima ward.

Sure the Saotome and Tendo family were around but it would feel different without everyone else. Just when things were about to get better, their relationships amended and past rivalries left behind, they were splitting up.

Maybe it was just her being paranoid but eventually it would happen. She knew. After all the only thing that really tied them together was Ranma. With him no longer in their lives, there was no real reason to stay in Nerima.

They had said as much last night. Ukyo was grateful for that bonfire sharing and that may probably be the last time.

Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of a periodic knocking in the distance. Sort of like the sound of knuckles tapping on a wooden table. She began to feel a bit edgy as the sounds got louder. Now there was the sound of crunching dirt like a stick hitting the ground.

"Ukyo!"

Her heart jumped into rapid beats that she thought she'd pass out … again. But she recognized the voice, belonging to an old woman she hadn't expect to meet here.

"Cologne?" Ukyo said, simultaneously turning around and getting on her feet.

"What are you doing here?"

"The others, have they gone?" Cologne asked. She sounded frantic and her unkempt features showed that.

"They're in the valley," Ukyo replied.

"Maybe it's not too late to catch up to them. Come!"

"What? What's going on?"

* * *

The team of five finally reached the cave mouth. For a few moments they stood in awe. So very close now.

"Just a little further guys," Akane said, smiling.

They smiled back and then took in deep breaths.

"Let's end this," Ryoga said.

It was dark inside and just as Akane had said there were innumerable tunnels in the cave. Only one led to the spring.

"Stay close and don't break off," Akane said, getting her flashlight.

They followed Akane down a path, through twists and turns and into tunnels that seem to appear suddenly along the walls.

"Did you make these tunnels Ryoga?"

"Very funny Mousse."

"We're nearly there," Akane said.

"You said that half an hour ago," Shampoo said.

Just as she said that the path opened up to a large cavity. Akane turned off her flashlight and to the group's surprise the cavity was lit up with a bluish glow that came from what looked like a large pool at the farther end of the space. They had all stopped, forming a line and stared at the glowing spring in disbelief.

"We're here," Ryoga said.

"Come on," Akane said.

The trance broke and with Akane leading, they walked to the pool. The cursed four looked into the water, seeing their reflections in the blue light.

"Okay, let's get started," Akane said. She set down her backpack and took off her jacket.

"The process is pretty simple. All of you need to jump into the water at the same time at the higher end of the pool."

She walked around the spring until a point where she stood lower than the rest.

"Here is the lower end and directly opposite is the higher end," she said.

"So we all jump in at the same time?" Ryoga said.

"What then?" Shampoo asked.

"Jusenkyo's magic would seep out of your bodies and flow with the water to the lower end. Until it's done, no matter what, stay where you are."

"That's simple enough," Mousse said.

"Nothing's ever really too simple," Genma said.

"Trust me. There won't be any more changing after this," Akane said.

The four looked at one another, smiling and silently congratulating themselves. They dropped their backpacks and walked to the higher end. They only hoped the water was deep enough so to not injure themselves.

"This is it," Ryoga said.

"Yeah," Mousse said.

"If only it had been sooner," Shampoo said.

"There's no use thinking about that now," Genma said.

"Right," Shampoo said.

"Wait!"

The word echoed throughout the entire cavity and the suddenness of it shocked them frozen. The four looked behind just in time to see Cologne and Ukyo emerge from where they came through.

"Don't! Don't jump in!" Ukyo said.

"What do you think you're doing Akane?" Cologne demanded.

"What's going on?" Ryoga asked.

"Akane, would you care to explain?" Cologne said.

"I-I don't know what you're talking about," Akane replied. They were all staring at the lone girl standing at the lower end of the spring.

"Akane, the truth. Tell them the truth," Ukyo said. To the bewilderment of the rest, she sounded desperate, pleading.

"I'm not hiding anything," Akane replied.

"Are you?" Cologne said. Right after, she threw out a cloth-wrapped book and it flew far, reaching the other side and landing at Akane's feet.

"Fortunately you had left this book at home. If it weren't for Kasumi finding it, I wouldn't have made it here in time," Cologne said.

"Akane, what is she talking about?" Genma asked.

Akane now had her eyes cast down, avoiding their questioning gaze.

"Tell them," Cologne said.

"Akane, what's going on?" Ryoga asked.

Akane remained quiet, staring at the book before she bent down slowly to pick it up. She stood straight again but still avoided their eyes.

"Come out with it Akane," Cologne said.

Akane took a deep breath that echoed in the chamber. She looked up at them and then spoke.

"Believe me, I had tried. I tried to search for other ways. Searched the documents, records, archives that were kept with the guide. Anything to cure you guys. But I didn't find anything. There was no alternative. This spring was the only way."

"I don't get it. What's wrong with this spring?" Ryoga asked.

Cologne then spoke, "The nature of the curse – it being cast by the original sorcerers – means that it can't disappear. Only the casters can remove it. According to that journal, the only other way to get rid of it is to transfer the curse into another living vessel. This pool was created for this purpose – to bring out the curse from the original bearer and then transfer it to an empty body."

"And the transfer only works by switching between the same beings – frogs with frogs, birds with birds, humans with humans," Akane added.

"But, that would mean …" Ryoga said.

"Akane would have the curse. And since there're four of you, it would kill her almost instantly," Cologne said.

"What?!" Ryoga said.

"And you knew?" Shampoo asked.

Akane was silent for a while before replying.

"It's a noble act don't you think? That I'd die in exchange for your lives. You'd live. You wouldn't have to be worried about the curse ever again. A beautiful thing really."

"What? You're insane!" Shampoo said.

"I've thought it through Shampoo!" Akane said. "Over and over again. I decided that I don't want to see any of you die. I made that promise. And no matter what it takes I'll fulfill it, even if it means my death."

"But, Akane –," Ryoga said.

"I've thought it through." Akane's words were final, silencing everyone.

"It's what you've all wanted," she continued, her voice now void of emotion. "And now that you understand what would happen, it's become much more important. So, here's your cure. Just a jump away."

Akane had taken off her shoes as she talked and began to descend into the pool.

"Akane!" Ukyo said.

Akane continued on with her mono tone.

"It's alright guys. I've already accepted this. This is what I have to do. This is for you guys. I'm just one life. And look at me." And she raised her amputated right arm. "I can't function like the way I used to. This would be my last act. My life for yours."

"Stop it, Akane!" Ukyo yelled. So loud that it felt like she had shaken the chamber.

"Why are you saying these things? This is not how it's supposed to be! This will not be how it ends! I won't let you!"

"You're in no position to talk Ukyo!" Akane yelled back, shocking her. "You don't have a curse lingering over you! You don't have a watery death waiting! It's their lives at stake here. Not yours Do you want to see all of them die the same death as Ranma?"

Ukyo looked at the rest of the group that had remained quiet the whole time. Surely they're not thinking of going ahead with it are they? The cure is just before them but they can't want to sacrifice someone's life for it right?

They wouldn't be able to live with that. They wouldn't forgive themselves for that.

But at the same time, Ukyo didn't want them to go like Ranma did. She couldn't bear the thought of seeing that process all over again. Even if she weren't there to see it, she could easily imagine what it would be like for them.

Like all those nights, replaying in her mind, in her dreams, the eternal after-image of Ranma drowning.

"Guys, you're not going to do this are you?" Ukyo asked.

They didn't respond. The blank horror on their faces told her that they were at a loss too. So close to the cure and so close to death too but what stood in their way was a decision that they would have to forever live with.

Akane was already sitting at the edge of the pool, her feet now submerged in the glowing water.

Akane spoke again.

"You have to do this. It's the only way out. I'm not going to let you die after coming this far. And I've already decided long before, that no matter what it takes, I'll have you cured. Even if it meant my death."

"They didn't agree to this Akane. They didn't agree to sacrifice their friend's life. You should've told them," Cologne said.

"Then they wouldn't have come along. I withheld the truth for your own good. There's no turning back now. The decision's been made. You don't want to die and I've accepted my fate," Akane said.

Things fell silent again and this time Ukyo got furious with the four.

"You can't seriously be thinking of killing her are you?! This cure isn't worth someone's life! We could find another way! There's always some other way! I know it!"

"My wife," Genma, the first of the four to speak. "Nodoka hasn't been herself ever since Ranma died. For a long year I watched her mental state deteriorate. She wasn't lighting up the house any more. The spark she had died with Ranma and she became more withdrawn as time grew. I am a man with a tough heart but seeing her like that broke it. I did all I can to console her, day by day.

She kept getting angry at me and I understood why. She was angry at me for taking her son away for many years and just when they were reunited, he was taken away from her again, this time, forever. And I can't ever forgive myself for that.

And if I were to leave her all alone again, that pain would deepen. She's lost her son and already a great part of her has died. If I were to leave her …"

"N-No, Mr. Saotome," Ukyo said.

"Damn you Akane! You put me in such a difficult situation," Genma said.

"You said it yourself Mr. Saotome. You can't leave your wife alone," Akane said.

Ryoga was next to speak.

"I promised Akari that I would come back for her, like I always do when I leave her."

"Ryoga, please not you too," Ukyo said. Tears welled up in her eyes now. "There's got to be some way out of this. Some other way than this. I know it."

"But how long will it be till we find it?" Ryoga asked, looking at her. "I don't know if I can risk this cure. You remember what happened just yesterday don't you?"

Ryoga's response shocked her.

"Please, don't do this guys. There's no way you'll live with this," Ukyo begged.

"Akane, don't do this please. There must be another way," Cologne said.

"Great-grandmother, are you sure?" Shampoo asked.

"Shampoo?" Cologne looked at her great-granddaughter in shock.

"Will there be another chance like this?" Shampoo said. Tears were in her eyes as well. Cologne knew that Shampoo didn't want to go with this; none of them were. But if they were to opt out, then their gamble would only become riskier. Everyone could lose everything.

There was no way to win this game.

"Mousse?" Shampoo said, her trembling voice searching for something, anything from her long-time friend.

He looked into her eyes that were as fragile as thin glass. For a while he was quiet, losing himself in those eyes but not the same way as he would during the times he admired her.

"I … I don't know, Shampoo," Mousse said and then looked away. "I don't know."

"Guys," Ukyo said, her voice now cracking.

"They've already decided," Akane said, maintaining her blank expression.

Genma was the first to step closer to the edge of the pool.

"No, please," Ukyo said. Her knees shook and her body weakened.

Ryoga dragged his foot forward.

"Please," Ukyo pleaded and she fell to her knees, visibly crying now.

Mousse and Shampoo held hands and hesitantly took simultaneous steps forward.

"Cologne, please! Do something! Why are you quiet about this?!" Ukyo said.

"For once Ukyo, I have no idea what to do," Cologne said, her voice cracking as well.

"What are you saying?! You can stop them!"

"But I don't want to lose any of them!"

The group had stopped, only a step away from the water below.

"I don't want to lose them too," Ukyo whispered. She looked up at them, at the four who would regret their entire lives if they jumped into the water but would all die if they let this chance slip away.

Ukyo too began to doubt her decision.

But then she remembered. As if her life was flashing before her eyes once more, she remembered something that might just change the situation.

She had to try.

"What about last night Akane?" she said.

"What?" Akane said.

Ukyo wiped her tears away and stood up, facing Akane at the farther end of the pool.

"Don't you remember? The conversations we all had by the fire. The grand stories we shared. The embarrassing stuff we told each other. The thoughts we expressed about life, about people. For a while we were suddenly like philosophers, gathering to talk and question stuff we never thought of before. We talked about the future. Even as far as having a family."

Akane was quiet and her eyes were lowered.

"Don't you remember all that? We became friends that night. All of us."

Shivers exploded through her body and she began to cry again. The night before had been special. A bond was created at that campfire. And no matter what, Ukyo didn't want that precious bond to break. Not when it had only just begun.

"I wish we hadn't," Akane said. They could hear a mix of sadness and anger in her voice.

"W-What?" Ukyo said.

"I tried to stay detached from you guys. I tried to make it easy for me and you."

"Things like this aren't easy Akane!"

"No, it's not. But there's no way out of this. Not anymore."

Akane sank her legs further into the pond, not paying any mind to the water drenching her trousers. She went further in up to her waist while her arms held on to the edge of the pool.

"We have no choice. There's no turning back."

All of a sudden, an unfamiliar voice yelled in what sounded to be Chinese in language. Everyone looked at the old woman walking in slowly from an opening that seemed to have appeared out of nowhere. The old woman had a wild-eyed look, intrigued to find people in the pool chamber. She continued to speak in her native language and with her cane, pointed at the group.

"Who is she? What's she saying?" Ukyo asked, looking at Cologne.

"Oh, I'm sorry! You're all Japanese. It's no wonder all of you stood there like you were deaf," the old woman said, switching to the group's language. She was surprisingly fluent too.

"Um, who are you?" Ukyo asked.

"We'll come to that later. I see that all of you are in a pinch. I heard your drama and yelling all the way from my place. I don't often have visitors after all. Oh, I'm babbling now. Please, do come with me. I can help," the old woman said.

The group remained at their places, unsure whether to trust this strange old lady.

"Oh don't be scared now. Look at me. Do I look dangerous to you? What can an old woman do?"

The young ones turned their heads toward Cologne who, in response, narrowed her eyes.

"Wrong choice of words I guess," the unknown woman said. "But no need to worry. Come, come. I can help you with your curses."

"What?" Ryoga said.

"You heard right. Now come. We can't waste much time."

The old woman turned around and entered the tunnel she had come from. The group was still hesitant on trusting the stranger's words. But then, she was just an old lady and if she did try anything funny, they outnumbered her. Plus, they had Cologne with them.

"Let's give it a shot," Ukyo half pleaded. "If what she said was true, then Akane doesn't have to die."

The cursed four looked at Akane who still had her legs in the water, her head cast down.

"Come now," Cologne said.

Without a word they left the chamber and followed the stranger, leaving Akane at the rim of the pool.

They followed the old woman closely, guided by a glow coming from the old woman. Cologne took note that the stranger knew magic and to be extra cautious. The old woman kept reassuring them that they had nothing to worry about.

After what seemed like an eternal walk through the array of tunnels, they arrived at a chamber as large as the curing pool chamber.

"Oh, where's your other friend?" the old woman asked.

"Umm, she's back at the pool," Ukyo answered.

"What is she doing all the way back there? It's easy to get lost in here."

"Uh … well …"

"Oh, never mind. You can pick her up on the way out. What's important now is the curses isn't it? Come now."

"Uh, I don't have the curse," Ukyo said as the old woman gestured for her to step forward. "They do."

The old woman leaned a little to her left to see the four people Ukyo was showing her. She sidestepped Ukyo and went closer to the four.

"I knew that," she said.

"What are you going to do to us?" Genma asked.

"Hm, let's see. First I'll need to test your pain threshold which would require me to stab you multiple times with these protruding rock formations in this cave."

The air seemed to disappear and everyone went very stiff upon hearing the crude explanation.

"Oh, I'm joking! Lighten up! You still have time left see," the old woman. "Come I'll do you one by one. Big boy first."

She pulled on Ryoga. He was surprised of how forceful the old woman was.

"You just sit right here while I get my things," she said, setting Ryoga down on a rock chair. It certainly looked like one carved out from years of repeated seating. Just how long has the woman been living here?

The rest arranged themselves around the carpeted floor and sat waiting for the old woman to return from one of the chambers she had went into. Ukyo remained on her feet though, uneasy of the fact that they had one member of the party missing.

"I'm gonna go back for Akane," she announced.

"You sure? We don't want you getting lost in there," Genma said.

"I wanna make sure she's alright," Ukyo replied.

"Oh your friend back there?" the old woman said, popping back into her 'cave home'. "Just follow those lights on the walls. You'll get to the pool."

"What lights?" Ukyo asked. The old woman snapped her fingers and suddenly the path they came through lit up.

She glanced at the rest for a while before making her way back to Akane. With the soft bluish lights which were seemingly coming right from the face of the rock as her guide, she reached the pool chamber to find the young Tendo girl, already with a new set of clothes about to walk out of the chamber.

"Akane!" Ukyo called out.

The girl paused in her steps but still faced her exit. The two were quiet for a while.

"Akane, don't go. Everything's fine now," Ukyo said.

"I know that. You don't need me anymore," Akane said.

After letting some silence pass between them, Ukyo said, "Thank you though. I'm sure everyone appreciates your sacrifice. What you've done for them, it couldn't have been easy."

Akane lowered her head, wordless for a while before she spoke.

"It had been that at first. To sacrifice myself for the rest. A noble action, something only real friends would do, right? But at the same time, Ranma occupied my mind. As time went by, it got worse. I guess you can say it became an obsession. And it was corrupting. I wanted to go on, no longer because of them, but to free myself from this … emotional torment. I just wanted to end it and this was the perfect opportunity to do so. I wanted it all to go away."

She turned slightly and looked back at Ukyo.

"So, don't thank me," she said.

"Everyone wants it to go away, Akane. Everyone wants to forget," Ukyo said. "But you and I know that it wouldn't be possible. We don't have to be alone though. Ranma … he's created a bond between us all. I don't know about the rest but that's what I see. And I want to keep that together for as long as possible."

"So, don't go, Akane. Come back with us. You still have a home Akane. Family, friends. You … all of us still have a whole life ahead."

Akane remained where she stood, quiet and head down.

"Things will never be the same won't it?" Akane said.

"I had a whole year to figure that out," Ukyo said.

Things fell silent again until Akane started walking to the exit. Before Ukyo could say anything Akane spoke.

"I'll wait outside," she said.

Ukyo smiled and watched Akane leave before heading back to the rest of the group.

As she emerged into the room the old woman was just finishing her work on Genma, the last of the cursed four.

"There, all done," the old woman said.

"What did you do to them?" Ukyo asked.

"A seal on the curse. A strong one. Now it is locked deep inside them," the old woman answered.

"So, it's not totally gone," Ukyo said.

"Unfortunately. Only the people who created the curse can do that. I take it that you all know of Jusenkyo's history?"

"Yes, we do," Ukyo answered.

"And obviously it's been thousands of years since then. So there's no getting rid of it permanently," the old woman replied. "But don't you worry, that seal won't break. At least, not immediately."

"Meaning?" Genma said.

"Nothing lasts forever, even that seal. Over time it'll weaken but by then you'd have forgotten you had a curse. You'll lead normal and I hope happy lives up till that point. You'd be ready then to accept your fate."

"So, this is as close to the cure as we can get huh," Ryoga said.

"After all this time," Genma said.

"It's better than nothing right?" Ukyo said.

Everyone nodded.

"Don't worry so much. Now off you go, back to your homes. Your business here is done," the old woman said.

"Just a question before we go. Who are you?" Cologne said.

"Just an old hermit living in the mountains of Jusenkyo. You won't get any more than that. You just have to trust me. Besides, I've already put up the seals," the old woman replied with a smile.

"I guess there's no choice but to take your word as the truth. Thank you," Cologne said.

The old woman replied with a nod.

The rest of the group said their thanks as well. They turned and walked out, tracing their steps through the tunnels, back to the spring chamber out of the labyrinth and found Akane looking out at the valley.

"Akane?" Shampoo said.

Akane turned to face them. She saw a difference in them. They seemed more vibrant now that the burden they carried had been lifted. She smiled.

"So, it's over?" Akane said.

Everyone smiled and nodded.

"It's over," Ukyo said.

Akane then cast her glance to the ground, ashamed to see their faces after what had happened earlier.

"I'm sorry everyone. I shouldn't have forced you all to do that," she said.

"It's okay Akane. We all understood your intentions," Ryoga said.

"But it's in the past now. Let's just forget about it," Shampoo said.

"Yeah. Let's start over. Create a better life together," Ukyo said.

Akane smiled at that.

"Well, let's all go home then," Akane said.

* * *

Epilogue

The low sun let out a yellowish glow in the evening sky, basking the undersides of clouds and mountain faces with streaks of light. Woodland animals and birds were already retreating to their homes, ready to turn in for the coming night. But their animal instincts also caught on something else; something to come in the very near future.

As such, the forest was quiet. Nothing made a sound. It seemed that even the tiny insects sensed something was amiss with the four-man group treading the dark forest. The one leading them carried a high-beamed flashlight that allowed them to see up to 15 meters ahead. The rest carried torches for the gathering.

"We're nearly there," the leader said.

The others kept following in silence, brushing past thick bushes among tall trees. The land soon began to descend as they entered the valley that had long been abandoned.

"You feel that?" one of the group said.

"The air's heavy," another said.

"Even after so long his presence remains," the leader said.

The trees gave way, opening up to a wide, empty valley. Barely any grass grew, let alone trees. The soil was dark, darker than what dead land looked like and the mountain-sides had an eerie near-black color.

"Is this really it? There's nothing here."

The group leader spoke, "Patience. This is the place. The valley in that tale. It is only a matter of time before he returns."

He then added, "Come, Juro Hibiki."

* * *

I hope the ending's good. It's almost 3 am here and I'm getting tired. Haha. So yes, there's a planned sequel to the story. A sudden idea burst came one night and I had to write it all down. I couldn't sleep for the rest of that night. Boy was I frustrated. Now that this story's over I'm going to start creating the sequel to this. I can't guarantee when it'll be out but I'll work on it and hope to release it soon. Thanks for reading this story despite all the late updates, messy writing, etc. Leave me comments, criticisms. I'm going to need them for future stories. I'm also going to have to read fan fictions again. Yeah, I kinda left it for a while. With the completion of this story, I hope to get my fire for writing back up. Thanks again. And I apologize again.


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